


From Here on Out

by PhoenixstarKina



Series: Yu-gi-oh Shenanigans [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Depression, Don't let that cheesy ending in chapter 1 fool you, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Foursome - M/M/M/M, Gen, Graphic Violence, HO BOY ARE Y'ALL READY FOR THIS, How did I go from crack to 'let's see how much I can fuck these boys up'?, How the fuck am I writing heavy shit, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kite is pissed off, Luckily Yuma will show up soon, M/M, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Other, People get sedated a LOT, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prescription Drug Use, Sedation, Separation Anxiety, Sexual Content, The drug is weed, The only crack here is half these tags, There be swearing here as you can tell, This is part of Welcome To The Show, This was supposed to be crack, Threesome - M/M/M, War, and Jaden, and wants murder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 08:00:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20768069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixstarKina/pseuds/PhoenixstarKina
Summary: Full list of ships in the first note. This is the prequel to Welcome To The Show, the beginning beginning explaining how it's AU from Arc V (really it becomes AU from the middle of the Friendship Cup) and how the different universes have fused with their dimensions in Arc V.Buckle up because it's a wild, heavy, dark ride.The first two chapters are also included in Welcome To The Show, because I didn't think the second chapter was going to get as big or as heavy as it did.





	1. Buckle Up For This Ride

**Author's Note:**

> Ships are in the bottom note.
> 
> Okay. So. This is getting it's own fic because wow. I wanted to write cute. I thought the only heavy stuff was gonna be the separation anxiety. NOPE. Check out the tags on this bad boy.

It happened so suddenly. One second, Yuya was standing there. Leo and Zarc both defeated, the latter before he could truly come to be. Everyone was safe. Zuzu standing off to the side with Lulu and Rin, Celina standing protectively in front of them with Shay and Declan. Riley clinging to Crow, him and Alexis holding their duel disks ready. But the fight was finally over.

Something else had happened though. Yuya panted, barely holding himself up as Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri appeared next to him. The three spirits looking to be in the same shape as Yuya.

_It’s over. We stopped them._ Yuto said.

_Then why do I feel like I’m gonna die again?_ Yugo groaned, glaring at the spot Leo Akaba had stood in before.

_Something isn’t right. We shouldn’t be here, to put it bluntly. _Yuri pointed out. _If we’re all part of a whole, our souls should have been completely absorbed… but we weren’t._

_Maybe… because we stopped Zarc._ Yuya fell to his knees, hearing the girls shout, but unable to make out anything they were saying. _We couldn’t fully fuse…_

_Yuya? You need to rest._ Yuto looked at him, ignoring the stare from Shay as he knelt down next to Yuya. _Come on, switch with one of us. You’ve used a lot of energy, it’ll be easier for you to recover as a spirit._

“Yuya, Yuto, we need to get out of here.” Shay said, taking a step towards them. He was stopped, Declan holding his arm out in front of the XYZ duelist.

“Wait. Something isn’t right here.” Declan warned. “I’m sure you can feel it too.”

_Something isn’t right?_ Yuya groaned. _Yeah… it feel like I got hit by a train…_

But Declan had a point. Yuya didn’t feel like everything was alright. His entire body ached, even his own soul ached. And the others weren’t fairing much better. There was something… something tugging at them.

There was no time to think it over as the room began to shake. Yuya was distantly aware of someone screaming, but his head felt like it was splitting open, leaning him groaning as he fell to the floor. It wasn’t just the room shaking, it felt as if the entire dimension was shuddering violently.

_What’s… going on? _Yuto gasped in pain.

_Did we… break the universe? _Yugo grimaced, hardly able to stay standing.

_No… something else… big is happening._ Yuri fell down to his knees.

There was a bright flash of light, making Yuya cry out as he screwed his eyes shut tight, then silence. No one said anything, even as the light disappeared.

And Yuya… panicked.

_Yuto? Yugo, Yuri! Where are you?! Guys?!_ His body felt lighter, silence echoing in his head. _Guys!_

They were gone.

Yuya couldn’t feel any of the other three. But as he tried to shakily push himself up, he collapsed, something falling across his side and making him groan as two more things fell on him. Was the room falling apart? He couldn’t hear _anyone_, until the thing that had landed on him first let out a soft groan.

He knew that voice.

“Y-Yuto?” Yuya gasped. There, laying across his side, was his XYZ counterpart. Looking much like he did the day he fought against Yugo and lost. But he wasn’t the only one.

Yugo was the first to recover, sitting up slowly and looking around. “H-Huh? Why’s everyone staring at us?” He blinked in confusion. “I know Shay and Declan can see us…”

“You idiot… maybe it’s because we’re solid!” Yuri growled from underneath Yugo. “But _you_ won’t be for long if you don’t _get off of me!_”

“Yuya…” Yuto breathed out, ignoring the other two and staring at Yuya as he struggled to at least sit up.

Yuto was right in front of him, living, breathing, he was _alive_, not just a spirit any longer. Yuya could hardly believe it…

But he could believe the look in Yuto’s eyes. He was sure his own mimicked the look. Yuya was suddenly all too aware of how _empty_ he felt. His heart hammering in his chest felt too loud in the silence in his head. He was _alone_, even with Yuto still draped over him.

He was alone… and he could easily lose Yuto again. The duel against Yugo flashed in his mind, seeing their friends carded, watching Yuto disappear. He was beginning to panic, and so was Yuto.

Giving up on sitting up, Yuya flipped over on his back, wrapping his arms tightly around Yuto. The other boy was warm, Yuya could _touch_ him, and Yuto was touching him too, his arms around Yuya’s neck, his breath against Yuya’s collarbone. But the anxiety was still there. They weren’t together, not in the way they had grown used to over the past year.

“Yuto, you’re here… y-you’re…” Yuya sniffled, clinging to Yuto.

“I’m here. We all are.” Yuto whispered back, burying his face in Yuya’s chest.

Being separate again felt like torture. Everything was too much, everyone was staring at them, two people were coming towards them.

“Guys, I wouldn’t if I were you…” Alexis voice sounded hesitant, and off. Yuya frowned. Their friend sounded… older, more guarded than she ever had. He turned his face towards her, holding Yuto even tighter.

She _looked_ different. And she wasn’t the only one. Alexis looked softer, more relaxed but more wary as the same time. Her gaze was sharp, but understanding. Tired but still overly alert. Next to her, Crow seemed much the same. There were some physical differences, he looked to have more muscle, but still lithe in overall shape. His eyes seemed puzzled, as if he wasn’t sure what exactly had happened for a while now. He was just as guarded as Alexis.

“Zuzu, Shay, leave ‘em be for now!” His voice was more commanding too. “We got friends coming to us, let them get their bearings.”

It was enough to stop both of them, for now, the two sharing a look of confusion.

“So I’m not imagining it…” Yuya turned his head as Yuto moved on top of him again, pressing their foreheads together before laying his head on Yuya’s shoulder. Yuya hid his face against the crook of Yuto’s neck, feeling the anxiety rise up again before falling back down. Yuto’s cape hid them from view mostly, something Yuya took advantage of as his hands slipped under Yuto’s shirt, resting against his back.

He didn’t move when he heard shuffling close by, barely turning his head as a hand carded through his hair. It was Yuri, he realized, seeing the flash of purple. “You two are shaking.” Yuri whispered softly, holding up his duel disk as if he were ready for a fight.

But he could hardly even hold himself in a sitting position, Yuya noticed. The hand in his hair was trembling too. And Yugo was leaning on Yuri, eyes drifting around the room.

“Rin?” Yugo whispered.

“Yugo!” Rin finally slipped past Declan, hurrying past Zuzu and Shay to fall down next to Yugo, taking his face in her hands and looking him over. “Gods you’re freezing! Both of you are!” She realized as she pressed the back of her hand to Yuri’s cheek, not flinching as he weakly batted her away.

“Whatever just happened must have caused them to separate back into four fully.” Declan realized. “That energy outburst, it was like magic.”

“Not _like_ magic, it _is_ magic.” Alexis said. “It’s… a _very_ long story. And I’m not entirely sure what happened. But if this feeling I have is what I think it is… our explanation is about to come crashing through the doorway in a few minutes.”

“Explanations can wait, these four are freezing cold! Even Yuya is!” Rin fretted. Yugo leaned happily into the hand still on his cheek, looking much like a puppy with Rin paying attention to him.

“I don’t care if they’re icicles. Move away from them, Rin.” Shay’s voice was just as cold as Yuya realized they all felt. He turned his head again, seeing Shay glaring at them.

Not at _them_, just at _Yuri_.

“Shay-“ Rin began.

Shay’s gaze narrowed. “Move. He’s the one who started all this! The one who kidnapped you and Lulu! And I bet the one that killed Yuto too.”

Yuri grimaced, trying to stand and hide any weakness, but falling back down next to Yuya.

“Hold up! Yuri wasn’t even there for my duel against Yuto! He killed me, not Yuto! That was m….” Yugo trailed off with a squeak as Shay glared at him too.

_Shay’s pissed…_ Yuya realized quickly. He was letting anger control his actions, finally facing the two people who had taken his sister and best friend from him. _But it’s not their fault!_

“I don’t care how they came back here, but maybe it’s best some souls stay gone!”

“That’s _enough_!” Yuto voice was ragged, breaking off into a cough as he struggled to try and lift himself up, slowly managing to sit up but not moving off of Yuya’s waist. “Shay, _back down._ Yugo and Yuri are to be left alone.”

“Is that really wise?” Sylvio was whispering, but it echoed in the silence that followed Shay and Yuto’s words. “I mean, Yuri did try to card most of us. And Yugo _actually_ killed Yuto?”

Some of their friends seemed to hesitate at Sylvio’s words. Yuya’s eyes widened as he realized some of them actually _agreed _with Shay. He sat up slowly, his hands never stopped touching Yuto as he did, moving from his back to his thighs. But one did move from Yuto, to grab Yuri’s wrist as their Fusion counterpart tried to raise his duel disk in defense.

“Shay stop!” Lulu rushed over, not hesitating to put herself between her brother and the four on the floor. “You heard what Yuto said, and we’re all _fine_! We’re here, that’s what matters.”

“It’s not, Lulu!” Shay glared at her. “What about everyone else that _monster_ hurt! Our friends, our family, our _home_. He’s just as guilty as the rest of the Obelisk Force!”

Yuya saw Sora and Aster wince out of the corner of his eye. How long would it take for Shay’s anger to turn on them too? If they hadn’t split… would that anger turn on Yuya as well? He would still have Yuto as a part of himself, unreachable to Shay, Yugo and Yuri would be with him as well.

There was nothing the four could really do to fight back. Yuto was trembling, just the strain of sitting up was too much. Yuya was much the same. Yuri lowered his gaze to the ground, taking Shay’s words without showing any emotions. Yugo was leaning heavily on Rin as she glared back at Shay.

Crow stepped forward too, and Yuya was relieved to see him stepping between Shay and Lulu, ready to play peacekeeper again. “Come on Shay, do we really gotta do this? The four of them can hardly even sit up! You really gonna stoop to a level Obelisk Force decided to go to? Attacking people while they’re down?”

He hesitated, Yuya hoped Shay would listen. His hope turned to fear as Shay raised his duel disk, summoning two Tribute Lanius.

“Move.” Shay stared down Crow and Lulu. “We agreed Obelisk Force would be punished for what they did. And their Pawn can be punished too.”

“They’re not part of Obelisk Force.” Crow stared back at Shay, moving Lulu behind him before ushering her back away from Shay. “They’re part of Yuya, which also means they’re part of Yuto. You really gonna attack your best friend?”

“My monsters know not to attack Yuto. But if you stand in their way, then they’ll attack you instead!”

The two birds screeched, diving down at Crow but splitting away at the last second, aiming for their true targets.

“Black-Winged Dragon! Stop those two sparrows!” Crow called out, putting a card down on his duel disk.

Vice-like limbs gripped the two monsters, stopping them from reaching Yugo and Yuri. On Crow’s arm appeared a glowing mark, looking much like a dragon’s tail. Yuya looked at him in shock. He had no idea what that mark was, or what the dragon he had just summoned was either.

“Cyber Blader! Help protect them!” Alexis’s monster appeared in front of them, another one Yuya didn’t recognize.

“A fusion monster?” Shay snarled. “So you’re with _them_ now?”

Alexis stepped forward. “Shay that’s _not_ what’s going on. Trust me, things are about to get even more complicated.”

“Tell me you don’t mean _he’s_ coming here.” Aster muttered, trying to hide further behind a few other people who had gathered around.

“It doesn’t matter! They’re with Obelisk Force, and if you two won’t do anything I will! Raidraptor – Ultimate Falcon!”

“Cyber End Dragon, stop that bird in it’s tracks!”

Yuya watched with wide eyes as a three-headed mechanical dragon wrapped itself around Ultimate Falcon, bringing it to the ground with enough force to further damage the floor, keeping it away from everyone as the serpent-like dragon hissed.

“Zane!” Alexis sounded surprised and relieved at the same time, looking at the man standing in the doorway. Dressed in all black, with dark teal hair and sharp eyes, the man looked like danger, catching Shay’s attention immediately.

_Where was he when we were fighting Obelisk Force?_ Yuya looked from him to the dragon. _Wait… that’s a fusion dragon too! Is he with Obelisk Force?_

“Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting to find when Jaden dragged us here.” The man- Zane, Yuya heard Alexis call him- walked into the room. Yuya saw Aster’s eyes widen as he tried to back away even father, his back hitting the wall. “A new Duel Academy shows up, Alexis goes missing, and I walk in on an execution?”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” Alexis admitted. “Where’s Jaden?”

“Busy. Seems he put us in the middle of a warzone. Kaiba isn’t too happy about that, neither are the Pharaoh and King. Syrus and Atticus are dueling outside, Blair’s helping with the wounded. Magical outburst?”

“Of a sort. I think it was on your… our… oh that’s going to be confusing. On your end. That caused a few things to merge together.” Alexis said.

Yuya began to calm down, looking more curious now. Alexis seemed to know Zane well, treating him like a friend. Except he could see Shay getting more and more angry by the second.

They were saved from his next outburst though as Celina’s fist slammed into his stomach. “We _really_ need to retrain him to have an off button that won’t risk internal bleeding.” She muttered as Shay fell unconscious on the floor. “Alexis? Mind giving us a short explanation so we can get out _before the ceiling collapses_.”

“Okay long story short, that magical outburst? Was our dimensions fusing with another universe.” Alexis explained quickly. “I don’t know exactly how, but I know I have two sets of memories in my head. One from here and one from there.”

“Ditto.” Crow nodded. “Jack and Aster probably do too.”

“Aster?” Zane looked around, glaring at the pro duelist. “You mean, _commander-in-chief_ of part of this war?” Aster flinched back.

“No time Zane. Celina’s right, we need to get out of here _now._” Alexis said turning to help Rin get Yugo on his feet. Between the two of them, they had to support him fully.

Yugo groaned, the movement of standing was painful. “Why do we feel like this?”

“Because we were four people in one body before. We could evenly disperse pain between four souls… which led to us taking a few risky chances that we are now paying for.” Yuri leaned more on Yuya and Yuto with Yugo standing.

“Come on, up you go.” Crow lifted Yuri up, draping the smaller’s arm carefully over his shoulders and wrapping his arm around Yuri’s back as Lulu moved to help him. “Where’s Jack at?”

“If he’s the tall blond, he’s fighting outside.” Zane answered. “Chazz was with him, last I saw.” He called his monster back, Alexis and Crow doing the same as Zane summoned a different one. “Chimeratech Fortress Dragon! Hold up the ceiling!”

“Yuya!” Zuzu rushed over, standing next to him and Yuto. “Come on Sylvio! Declan! Help us out!” She said as Celina lifted Shay up.

Sylvio hesitated, looking warily at Yuri.

“Get your ass over here _now_ Sawatari. Gong! Get Riley and Sora out of here!” Zuzu ordered.

“Oh why do I always have to do the heavy lifting?” Sylvio huffed, yelping when the large metal dragon snarled at him. “On my way!” He hurried over to Zuzu, helping her lift up Yuto but realizing their first dilemma. “Look, we can’t carry you both!” He protested when Yuto refused to let go of Yuya’s hand as he caught it from his thigh.

There was a flash of fear in Yuto’s eyes as they tried to separate them. The look mirrored in Yuya’s eyes.

“Oh for fuck’s sake- Jaden!” Alexis yelled out the door, blinking in surprise when Neos appeared in front of her. “Can you carry Yuto and Yuya?” She nodded back to the two.

Yuya’s eyes widened as he looked at the alien, who had no trouble lifting both him and Yuto up. “We need to move, quickly.” Declan said, helping Celina with Shay once Neos had the two counterparts.

Zane nodded. “Down the hall, to the right. There’s a makeshift medical center. Blair’s waiting there.”

Yuya squeezed Yuto’s hand tightly as the group made their way out. Crow, Declan, Celina, and Lulu looking around, making sure no one would stop them. He had so many questions, many that he wasn’t sure he wanted an answer to. _This is so exhausting… I don’t think I can take much more of this._

_…I don’t think I can either._ Came a hesitated reply, Yuya looked at Yuto, shocked to hear his voice in his head again. _Yuya… our bond is still there._

Yuya relaxed with that realization, but tensed as they turned the corner Zane told them to.

The fighting was still going on. Half of the corridor had been blasted away, leaving a large hole for everyone to look out of. Even with Leo Akaba gone, some of Obelisk Force was still fighting. Their monsters clashing with ones that were familiar to the Lancers.

But plenty more monsters were unfamiliar to most of them. Yuya watched a pure white dragon taking on a five headed fusion one, two black dragons fighting alongside the white one. A dark machine-like dragon cut through one of Obelisk Forces monsters, a heavily armored dinosaur following it. They were winning. With Leo gone, they would win.

_But at what cost?_ Yuya turned his head away, not wanting to watch. Dueling was supposed to be fun, not a warzone.

“Come on.” Crow muttered, lifting Yuri up more. “We’ve all seen that before. Some of us more than once.”

“Majestic Red Dragon, put a stop to this once and for all!”

Crow hissed as his arm lit up again. “Dammit Jack. Can you not do that right now? Fucking reckless bastard.” He led the way to a large room that seemed to be spared from the fighting and rubble. Inside were a few people, including a small girl with dark hair going between three beds, checking on three people sitting on each one.

“Blair! We need help.” Alexis said, guiding Yugo over to the other side of the room. She helped him on to one of the beds before helping Crow and Lulu move Yuri next to him on the bed. On the next bed Neos sat Yuya and Yuto down before disappearing.

Blair threw an exasperated glance over at Alexis. “_Everyone_ needs help! So put the strange guy down and pick up some bandages or something! I swear if Jaden thinks I’m going to be the go-to medic of this little band of misfits, I’ll punch him.”

Alexis smiled softly, shaking her head. “Where are the blankets, Blair? We have a case of souls forcibly separating and they aren’t warming up fast enough, on top of being injured. We’re _all_ injured… I hope there’s enough bandages…”

“There will be.” The gruff voice came from farther in the room, where a tall, muscular man with blond hair was patching up a smaller man. The smaller’s hair was spiked up, save for his blonde bangs. “Yugi’s called in reinforcements.”

“Do you need help, Alexis?” The smaller man jumped up, walking over and looking at the four male counterparts. “Oh… Let me handle them. You go get patched up yourself.” He touched a scrape on Alexis’s arm, making her hiss in pain.

“If you’re sure, Yugi.” Alexis nodded. Yugi smiled, taking her spot in front of Yugo.

He looked around. “The rest of you go get patched up! If you don’t need healed, then go outside and help. I didn’t expect that merge to leave us in the middle of a warzone. I hope Yusei’s having an easier time in his position…” He murmured softly.

“I’ll go out to help. If only to keep Jack from getting himself killed.” Crow rolled his eyes. “Sylvio! You’re with me. You wanna be a hero, then you can do the work.”

Zuzu jumped up. “I’m coming with too!” A few others agreed as well, leaving with Crow.

Yuya winced when Yuto leaned fully on him, the other panting slightly. “This really hurts…” Yuto managed to say. He was shivering, holding his side. Yuya looked down, gasping in horror.

“Yuto! Your side!” There was a tear in his shirt, blood staining the green fabric and Yuto’s hand.

“Take it easy.” Yugi soothed, moving over to Yuto. “Here, move your hand. I can fix that quickly.” He gently pried Yuto’s hand off of his side, frowning at how chilled he felt.

Yugi snapped his fingers, warmth suddenly spreading through the four. It was enough to make Yuri relax, leaning on Yugo and trying to get more warmth from the boy. “That happens when you go from being a soul sharing a body back to your own body. I was cold for weeks after Atem and I split.” Yugi said, examining the cut on Yuto’s side.

“When you and… you know what we…” Yuya watched, amazed as Yugi traced the cut, sealing it shut with ease.

It was like- no, it _was_ magic. Like Alexis said, and Yuya could feel it around them.

“I know the signs.” Yugi smiled. “Now, let’s get you four settled down. You stopped their leader, didn’t you? Let us take care of the rest.”

His voice was kind and warm, lulling Yuya to relax as Yuto leaned against him again. Soon after a blanket was draped over their shoulders, Yugi urging them to lay down before doing the same for Yuri and Yugo.

_Why am I stuck sharing a bed with _him_? Why can’t I have my own bed?_ Yuri’s grumbling voice drifted through Yuya’s mind.

_Conserving space. And to stay warm._ Yuya sleepily answered. The warmth of the blanket, the warmth coming from Yuto, Yuto’s heartbeat, all were making him realize just how exhausted he was.

_…Great, so we’re all connected still. Joy._

_At least we’re not in danger of being murdered by birdbrain._ Yugo pointed out, laying back on the bed and making no effort in moving away from Yuri. Shay was on a bed further away from them, the tall man from before working on stitching up a few deep cuts on him. _Think the big guy can just knock him out again if he tries to kill us in our sleep?_

“Enough talking.” Yugi’s gentle voice shocked the four of them. “Yes, I know what you’re doing. Atem and I have the same connection. Sleep. Nothing will happen, the room is heavily guarded.”

There was a growl from a dragon outside, seeming to agree with Yugi. In the back of his mind, Yuya could hear Odd-Eyes chirping curiously. _Not now Odd-Eyes… play later…_

If his dragon answered, Yuya didn’t hear it, drifting off to sleep at last.

* * *

When Yuya woke up, he felt warm. Curled up against another body. That wasn’t too odd, hiding out with the others, it was common for them to sleep close together. But the body didn’t feel like Crow or Shay, or soft enough to be one of the girls…

There were fingers carding through his hair, careful of any tangles. Right, they were in Fusion. His hair probably had blood in it, not that it would be noticeable. Yuri had done a number on him, but there was no time to wash up. He half expected a tired reply to that thought.

But one never came.

Yuya gasped, eyes flying open in panic. _Yuri! Yugo! Yuto!_ His mind screamed.

“It’s okay, Yuya, it’s alright, they’re right here.” The hand carding through his hair stopped as Yuya looked around frantically. “Look down.”

Yuya did, looking at who he had been laying on. “Yuto…” He breathed out, laying his head back down on Yuto’s chest.

He had a heartbeat again. Yuto was alive. But Yuya shivered.

“It’s alright.” Yugi soothed. “You’ve been asleep for a few hours.”

Yuya looked around, happy to find two shapes on the bed next to their’s. Blue and purple hair sticking out of the blanket, showing just how close Yugo and Yuri were laying. Rin sat in the chair next to them, bandaging up her hand while Celina sat at her feet, gently putting gauze on a wound on her leg.

He could hear soft voices on their other side. Zuzu was speaking to someone, she sounded alright. And there was something else warm by his head.

Yuya turned his head, only to be greeted by brown fur. His brow knit in confusion as he blinked.

Yugi giggled. “Sorry. The Kuriboh wanted to help, and I figured it was best for them to help warm you guys up.”

There were two Kuriboh on Yuya’s bed. Kuriboh, and Yuya’s own Kuriborder. And two over on the other bed; Kuribon and Winged Kuriboh. Each one seemed to be fast asleep, much like the three others were.

Yuya groaned, trying to move to sit up. Yugi moved to help him, getting Kuriboh out of the way so Yuya could sit next to Yuto, he never moved his hand off of the XYZ duelist. Once he was sitting up, propped up against the headboard of the hospital bed with a pillow, Yuya looked around.

There were more people, ones Yuya didn’t recognize, allies and enemies alike. The small girl, Blair, was rushing around, checking on everyone with Alexis, and surprisingly Riley as well. The child was helping carry blankets to everyone who came in. Shay was still out cold on the bed on Yuya and Yuto’s other side, looking somewhat peaceful, though his chest and stomach were covered with bandages.

“He was injured pretty badly.” Yugi told Yuya.

“Who… are you?” Yuya finally asked, wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded and taking the bottle of water Yugi offered him gratefully.

Yugi smiled softly. “That’s too long of a story for now. All you need to know right now is that I’m a friend, and one of the true leaders of… Fusion, your friends called it?”

“He’s a universe traveler.” Celina spoke up from the floor. “Yugi, a guy who looks like his twin but is actually his husband, and Alexis’s fiancé are in charge of Fusion now. Synchro and XYZ are getting a change of leadership too.” She looked over the gauze on Lulu’s leg, making sure it was secure.

“But Standard, for now, is under your father’s leadership, and Declan’s.”

“My father…” Yuya murmured. “Then… he’s alright?”

Yugi nodded. “Yusho’s helping Atem and Jaden for now. The fighting’s dying down finally… but there were some complications.” He hesitated. “Your friend, Sora.”

Yuya felt cold again when Yugi said that. “Sora? Wh…what happened to him?”

“We aren’t sure, but I think his mind couldn’t handle everything going on. He started attacking everyone, not caring who he hit.” Yugi explained. “He’s sedated for now. We had to. Jaden thinks something’s wrong mentally.”

“Shay’s been sedated too. And his cards are with me.” Lulu said quietly. “But Sora… he isn’t okay.”

Yuya looked worriedly over to where Sora was, not surprised to find Dennis sitting in the chair next to the bed. What did surprise him, was the handcuffs on both of them.

“Why…”

“The handcuffs?” Yugi guessed sadly. “A compromise. Some of the resistance… shares Shay’s views. The handcuffs are for their safety. There’s… been enough death. If people defect from Duel Academy and truly mean it, believe me I want them to go free too. But some…” He looked towards the doorway.

Yuya did too, just in time to see Zane dragging Aster in, his hand gripped Aster’s hair tightly. “Zane! I’m sorry! Honestly I am! I just- I thought he was right!”

Zane tossed him on the floor, ignoring the other duelist’s groan of pain. “You thought _invading_ another dimension was _right_? You thought leading them, ordering the deaths of _thousands_ was right? You abused me, _stalked _me, tried to abuse Jaden, then you do _this_ here?” Zane glared.

“Zane this is a hospital not an interrogation room.” Yugi looked unimpressed at the angry man’s display, raising an eyebrow as Zane glared at him.

Yuya shivered. Shay glaring was scary, but Zane’s glare was downright frightful. It was murderous, making Yuya move closer to Yuto and grateful Yuto was still sleeping through the commotion. And Yugi… was _completely unfazed by it_.

“Good. Because when I’m through with this piece of shit, he’s going to need life support.” Zane growled, glaring back down at Aster, who whimpered in fear. “I don’t care if you had a _change of heart_ in the middle of the war. That’s how you act. The wrong side’s losing so you try to buddy up to the winning side.”

“And then the merge happens, you remember _everything_ and try to flee like a coward.”

Zane didn’t move as a roll of bandages slammed into the side of his head, falling uselessly down on the floor. “Zane! Quit making Aster scared enough to wet himself and do something useful!” Blair snapped, walking over and glaring up at him.

_He’s gonna kill her._ Yuya stared in horror as Zane looked down at Blair.

“Jaden’s bringing Syrus in, he was hurt when some of the attacks caused part of this torture castle to come down. His ankle was badly twisted.” Blair said, snatching the bandages up off the floor. “Just handcuff Aster and put him over by Sora and Dennis! Yugi’s orders!”

Yuya wasn’t sure who Syrus was, but his name seemed to snap Zane out of his anger. With another growl, Zane lifted Aster up by the collar of his shirt, tossing him into the chair next to Sora’s bed.

“Rafael? Can you handcuff him? Zane would probably chop his hands off.” Yugi asked as Zane stalked back over. “Zane, you need to calm down. We’ll handle Aster, you focus on Syrus. Your heart can’t take a large-scale battle like that, so we need you as a guard.”

Yugi’s attention turned back to Yuya and Yuto as Yuto coughed, slowly opening his eyes. “Yuya…?”

“I’m right here.” Yuya said softly, squeezing Yuto’s hand before laying back down next to him. He looked at Yuto as the other turned to face him, his eyes soft with a smile on his face.

“You are here… I thought it was a dream.” Yuto admitted, pressing his forehead against Yuya’s and closing his eyes. Yuya closed his eyes as well, smiling softly.

“It’s not a dream, you’re back.” He squeezed Yuto’s hand again.

It was so easy to forget anyone else was there as Yuto wrapped his arms around Yuya, pulling him close. Yuya’s hands gripped Yuto’s shirt over his chest, feeling him breathe in and out, in and out, a rhythm Yuya soon found himself copying. He was sure he heard Yugi moving over to Yugo and Yuri, and could vaguely feel the two stirring through the bond that was still between them. But nothing else mattered to him at the present moment.

Not with Yuto right there with him. More than just a spirit, someone Yuya could touch again.

The last time he could… Yuto had died in his arms. Handing him his dragon and disappearing, only to reappear as a spirit by his side. And all that time, through Synchro and XYZ and Fusion, Yuya had grown used to having to Yuto so close. To talking with him about everything, falling asleep next to the watchful spirit of his friend… falling in more ways than one.

And now Yuto was right next to him. Yuya opened his eyes to see Yuto looking back at him, ruby meeting gray. He smiled softly.

Yuto smiled back at Yuya. And when Yuto moved closer, tilting his head slightly, Yuya moved in to meet him. It was a soft kiss, barely any pressure put into it. But it was more than enough for the two of them.


	2. There's a Playlist for that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am 13 pages of trash. Not the chapter, me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuri is hella ace, typically leaning towards sex-repulsed. But it’s more of a “I want to hear about it/have it on my terms and only my terms” when it comes to sex. Sexual attraction? He has nada. None. Zero. And wow this chapter was a lot more suggestive than I meant for it to be.  
Also who’s ready to see how complicated I can make the pairings for this damn fic? (Hint: Not that complicated. The Yuya/Shay, Yuto/Shay, and Yuya/Shay/Yuto are all in the past. Shay has a new relationship after this) Fucking Christ Yuto shall I make this it’s own thing? Lmao I thought the first chapter was confusing. HELLO SERIOUS PLOT. Yuya’s having an identity crisis. There’s a playlist for this. JUST REMEMBER WELCOME TO THE SHOW TAKES PLACE AFTER THIS
> 
> THESE ARE THE NOTES AS I HAVE THEM WRITTEN ON THE DOCUMENT. It's 1:30 in the morning. I go into work in an hour. And I'm writing smut. Actual smut, for the first time in forever.

It took a few more hours for the fighting to die out completely. Yuya stayed next to Yuto on their bed, dozing on and off, the two sneaking soft kisses from time to time. Yugo and Yuri had woken back up again as well, the two sitting up, Yuri between Yugo and Rin, who was sitting on the chair next to their bed.

Lulu split her time between sitting next to her brother, and helping Blair out. Yuya could hear her moving around behind him. “Are you two going to join the waking world any time soon?” She teased them.

“No.” Yuto denied, tucking Yuya closer to him and his head under Yuto’s chin.

Lulu laughed. “You better soon. We’re working on raiding the kitchens here. Well, Zuzu is, with a few others. The fighting’s dying down too. Most of those loyal to Duel Academy are being held in different rooms. And we have another medical room set up for anyone badly injured.” She told them, covering Shay with a blanket to keep her brother from getting cold.

“Food?” Yuya seemed a bit more awake at that, blushing when his stomach growled.

Lulu smiled sympathetically at him. “Soon.” She promised. “Most of us have been split up for different tasks. Celina ran back out once she was bandaged up to help fight, and Zane’s still here.” She pointed over to one of the corners of the room, Zane was sitting a with smaller blue-haired duelist, wrapping up his arm. “That’s Syrus with him, his younger brother. Gong and Sylvio are still out there, so is Declan. We had to stop Riley from running out with him.”

Yuya looked around. “Riley? Where is she?” She was so young, too young for war, and it always had a bad effect on her. Yuya grew more worried when he couldn’t see her. “Riley?”

“She’s okay, Yuya.” Yugi soothed as he walked over. “It seems Riley’s taken a liking to my dragon.” He chuckled, pointing to the back of the room.

Yuya jumped when he noticed the large dragon back there. A deep black color with glowing red jewels on its body. It was curled up, Riley asleep on one of its arms. He sighed in relief, glad to see she was safe.

“Gandora can watch her until Declan comes back.” Yugi said, putting his hand on Yuya’s forehead before doing the same to Yuto. “You’re both warming up, that’s good.”

“Yugi, what’s going on outside? Is the fighting really ending?” Yuya asked, slowly sitting up with Yuto.

“Is it almost over?” Yuto whispered.

Yugi nodded. “It is. We sent word to Synchro and XYZ too. Jack and Kite both went back to tell the others. We have someone to go to Standard too, but he wants to talk to you four before he does.”

He moved over to check on Yugo and Yuri as well, humming softly. “Here, let’s make things easier.”

Yuya blinked in surprised as the two beds were pushed together, Yuri and Yuto between him and Yugo. “This makes things easier?”

“You feel calmer, don’t you? You were tense.” Yugi pointed out.

It was then that Yuya realized Yugi had been right. Being closer to Yugo and Yuri did make him relax more. Everyone seemed more relaxed. Yuri turned over to face Yuto, not protesting when Yugo draped one arm over his waist. Yuto’s free arm moved under Yuri’s neck, letting his head rest on his shoulder.

They gravitated towards each other, even without meaning to. Yuya laid down again as well, resting his head on Yuto’s other shoulder and reaching over to take Yugo’s hand. He could feel their contentment in their bond, sending out a wave of affection over his own connection to them.

“I’ll make sure everyone knows to not disturb you three.” Yugi promised. “Rin? Can you and Alexis go and see if they’ve found the kitchens yet? I think everyone will be more rational on full stomachs.”

As the girls left, Yuya moved closer to Yuto, closing his eyes again. He decided to test their mental link. _Think food will help Shay out?_

Yuto huffed in light amusement. _I think I know what will. Wait until we’re fed and he’s awake though. And we have a good wall between him and Yuri and Yugo._

_He really hates us, doesn’t he?_ Yuri looked curious as he asked. Yuya could feel him poking at their bond. _Strange… I thought this would go away if we separated._

Yugo hummed, nuzzling the back of Yuri’s neck, making the other glare lightly over his shoulder at him. _I mean… we did sorta take the last two people who were important to him…_ He pointed out sadly. _Yuto, I had no idea what happened, not until Yuya explained it and Yuri did the same to me… I-_

_Don’t, Yugo. _Yuto shook his head. _You didn’t know. And it was because of Zarc that any of this happened with us. As for Lulu getting kidnapped… yeah, that was bad. But Yuri didn’t know. I already forgave you, Yuri. Lulu’s alright, she’s here. Shay just needs to see that._

Yuri said nothing, closing his eyes and moving closer to Yuto’s side, bringing Yugo with him. Almost as if he was cuddling the two of them. Yuya smiled, but didn’t comment on it. The four laid there in silence, listening to people shuffling around in the room. Yuto watched as people came and went, and strangely enough, Yuya felt as if he were watching them too.

_Yuto, look to your left, towards where Blair is._ Yuri said, Yuto doing so. _Strange, we can see what you see too._

_You can?_ Yuto asked, turning his gaze to Yuri.

_If we focus we can._ Yugo said. _Yuri, you still have a nasty cut on your cheek._

Yuya saw the cut as well, opening his eyes to look at Yuri himself. The blood on it was dried, but it was a wide cut that was bound to leave a scar.

_We’re all still cut up._ Yuri pointed out, looking over Yuto to Yuya. Saying it made Yuya even more aware of how bad the four of them looked and felt. He could feel cuts and bruises everywhere. His hair felt matted with dried blood, Yugo’s looked the same, his usual bright bangs looked duller with all the dirt and grime.

It was as if everything Yuya had gone through had transferred and split up between them. Yuri had said they were more reckless when they were four souls in one body, the pain split up between them and making it feel less in one body. But split up again, all four of them were feeling worse.

_We really need to wash up._ Yuya said.

_If we could move, we could go to my room. I have a bathroom large enough for all four of us._ Yuri told them.

_There’s the keywords though. If we could move._ Yuto pointed out with a sigh, wincing when the movement hurt his chest. _I don’t think I can._

_There’s no way I can._ Yuri admitted, looking upset at that fact.

_I feel a bit better, but I doubt I can walk far._ Yugo looked over Yuri’s shoulder at the other two.

_I feel like lead._ Yuya admitted softly. _So if we want to wash up… we’d need help._

Yuto shook his head slowly. _It can wait then. That means moving away from each other too._

Yuya tried to hide his surprise at the strong wave of panic that came from Yuto as he said that. But Yuto had a point, getting help would separate them. And Yuya didn’t want to be separated. Even though some of the cuts and scrapes were starting to sting…

“Yugi?” Yuya turned over, looking for the older duelist. “Is there… any way we can get our cuts treated and stuff?”

“Of course!” Yugi nodded, hurrying to grab one of the first aid kits.

_It’s like he forgot we might be hurt or something._ Yuri raised an eyebrow, watching Yugi. _He’s a very strange person. I’ve been watching him, he has a connection like our’s to someone out there fighting. So he’s been telling everyone here what’s going on._

_He mentioned he does._ Yuya remembered as Yugi brought the first aid kit over. _Alexis seems to know him too._

“Alright, can you four sit up?” He asked as Rin came running back in with Lulu.

“They found it!” She announced. “Rations are on their way for everyone. We got sent back here to tell everyone.”

Yugi smiled. “Good timing! I need your help over here.” He said to the girls. “Yuya, Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo have some wounds that haven’t been treated yet.”

Rin gasped, rushing over. “Yugo! Why didn’t you say anything?” She fretted, looking him over. “You are all bruised up!”

Yugo smiled softly. “We said something now?” He offered.

“Not good enough! Strip!”

“W-wait! We can’t here!” Yugo protested as Rin began helping him with the zipper of his riding outfit. “Rin-rin!”

Yuto snorted. “We kinda have to.” He pointed out to Yugo. “Though… he does have a point. None of us have anything to change in to…”

“Of course you do! Clothes aren’t a problem, so long as none of you have anything against uniforms!”

Yugi shook his head as another person appeared in the room, landing gracefully at the foot of the two beds. The brunette was grinning, and wearing… what looked like a Duel Academy uniform. But it was different in design.

Yuri looked warily at the new man, even Yugo and Rin quieting down as they stared at him.

“What?” The man blinked. “Is there something on my face?”

“You mean besides your eyes?” Yuri pulled Yugo closer, keeping his other hand on Yuto.

His eyes were two different colors, orange and teal. “And your _uniform_.”

“Jaden, didn’t we tell you to lose the jacket for now?” Yugi sighed. “It’s alright you guys, this is Jaden Yuki. He’s on our side, Alexis and Jesse’s fiancé and my apprentice.”

Jaden grinned sheepishly. “Sorry Yugi. It’s just a bit cold out! But hey, I brought some extra uniforms from the good Duel Academy!” He held up the clothes in his hand. One red jacket, one yellow, one blue with white accents, and one white with blue accents. “It’s all the extra clothing we have on short notice. Kaiba has me running back and forth to get stuff from Academy Island to bring here.”

“They’ll have to do for now.” Yugi sighed. “Just pull a curtain around Shay’s bed, please. Until we’re certain we can safely take him off the sedative.”

_He would kill all of us if he saw us in those uniforms._ Yuto frowned sadly, looking over at his friend.

“Done!” Jaden waved his hand, a curtain appearing around Shay’s bed. “Magic is awesome, isn’t it?” He grinned at the four. “Alright! Let’s get you all fixed up!”

“By the way Yugi, we keep finding Obelisk Force creeps in traps…ones that I remember seeing before…” His grin turned into more of a smirk. “Were you having fun?”

Yugi smiled innocently back. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Yuya and the others shivered. _First he stares down Zane when the other guy’s pissed, now he’s taking out Obelisk Force… without even being near them?_ Yuya looked at Yugi.

_He looks innocent… but something tell me I’d rather have Sora awake and losing his shit than be on the wrong end of Yugi’s duel disk…_ Yuri admitted.

_That is one scary dude._ Yugo agreed, finally giving up on stopping Rin with a sigh. “Rin-rin. I love you. But… can we please get some privacy before we’re stripped down?”

Jaden hummed, snapping his fingers as a curtain appeared around their beds as well. “Sorry guys! But you all look like death warmed over, so you can’t exactly be left alone. And four of you, four of us, we can help you easily!”

Yuya didn’t protest as they were split up into two groups. He and Yuto on one side of the bed, Yugo and Yuri on the other. Rin and Lulu helped Yugo and Yuri as Yugi and Jaden helped him and Yuto.

“Here, lean on me.” Yugi said, helping Yuto up to remove his torn pants. Yuto grimaced at the movement, but managed to stay standing. “This is going to feel cold, but I learned a few quick sanitizing spells. Not as good as a bath, but you’ll be cleaned off.”

Yuto yelped when he felt the magic wash over him, shivering again. “Sorry.” Yugi apologized, helping Yuto sit down again. Yuya winced as the same magic washed over him, hearing Yugo protest as well. “It’s the easiest way to keep infection away for now, until you four are able to stand for a shower or a bath.”

“It’s fine.” Yuto said, not moving as Yugi checked his swollen ankle.

Yuya was grateful for Jaden’s help as he took off his jacket and shirt, wincing in pain as he tried to lift his arms over his head. “Are you attached to this shirt in any way?” Jaden asked. When Yuya shook his head, Jaden took out a small pocket knife. “Don’t worry. I know how to be careful.” Jaden promised, cutting off the shirt.

“Trust me, I’ve done this enough times to know what I’m doing.” Jaden murmured, looking at a long cut on Yuya’s shoulder. “Ouch, that’s gonna leave one hell of a scar…”

The next hour was full of comments like that, though Jaden didn’t let them be alone in the scar department. He gladly pointed out a few of his own. A claw mark here, burn there, even a tattoo of an icicle in rainbow colors on his shoulder. Yugi chimed in with a few of his own too, including a nasty burn scar in the shape of a chain, hidden by said chain and his jacket.

It helped keep the four calm, even as Yugo protested Rin’s demands of his boxers being removed. “Dammit Yugo you have a cut going down your _hip_. It’s not like you have _anything_ I haven’t seen before and _you and Yuri are practically identical twins._ Either the boxers come off, or I cut them off and you can go commando.”

Yuto snorted, grateful he wasn’t in Yugo’s position. “If you’re going to laugh at his suffering, Yuto, I could gladly tell everyone about the time you and Shay had to strip naked because one of you thought vegetable oil would help after you-“

“How about we don’t.” Yuto said quickly, interrupting Lulu and blushing brightly as Yuya tried to hide his grin.

He had seen the memory Lulu was mentioning. “Vegetable oil? On road rash?” He whispered.

“Shut it. Neither of us have any first aid knowledge, okay?” Yuto hissed back.

“It’s a wonder you two didn’t die of a blood infection.” Yuya looked at Yuto before looking away with a blush. Lulu did have a point, all of them were identical, save for hair color, hairstyle, and eye color. But remembering kissing Yuto before… and that they were currently in the company of strangers…

It was best for Yuya to _not_ look at Yuto half-naked.

Jaden laughed. “You guys are a young group, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “You’re just like Sy.”

Thankfully they were able to change after much longer. Yuya had never been one for more dressier clothes, but he was grateful for the short-sleeved button down shirt Jaden helped him put on before helping him with the red Slifer jacket. “You won’t get cold with this jacket on. Trust me, I spent four years wearing one!” Jaden laughed again.

Yuto looked curiously at his longer jacket. It was the white one with blue accents, the back longer than the front of it. Yuya thought it suited him, resembling the cape he usually wore. “I’m not really one to usually wear white…”

The beds creaked as Yugo fell back on them with a groan, wearing the yellow Ra jacket that Jaden brought. “There Rin. Happy now?” He grumbled. “Liked you better when you were Zuzu…”

Lulu rolled her eyes, helping Yuri adjust the blue Obelisk jacket he wore. “Don’t be so dramatic, Yugo. It’s nothing I haven’t seen either. I’ve seen Yuto, you two are exactly the same.”

“Lulu!” Yuto protested, blushing lightly.

“Just get back on the bed. Food will be here soon.”

Food, which ended up being a light soup. Something Yugo happily ate, grinning when Rin even gave him half of a small loaf of bread. Yuri ate his much slower, sitting next to Yugo with Celina sitting across from him on another bed, Rin and Lulu on either side of her.

Yuya was just happy for something warm. It was some sort of vegetable soup that tasted watered down, but the bread made it bearable. After two months of ‘eat what you find and if you don’t find anything oh well’, the soup was welcomed. Except, Yuto stared at his bowl, looking a bit sick at it. “Yuto?”

“I… don’t think I can eat anything.” Yuto whispered.

Yugi- no, it wasn’t Yugi. Yuya paused when the person walked over. He _looked_ like Yugi, but this duelist was taller, more regal. And his eyes…

The color almost matched Yuya’s, but was far deeper.

“We thought that would happen.” The stranger commented with a soft smile. “I had the same issue. Though, multiply your year and a half by 5,000.” He chuckled.

Yuto looked up at him. “I haven’t eaten anything in that time, but I feel _fine_. So how…”

“You had no need for food while sharing a body with Yuya. And since you two are connected, your body now reflects the state Yuya was in when you four separated. Give or take a few bumps and bruises. It should be similar to how you were before becoming a spirit as well.” He said, sitting down in the chair.

“Eat slowly. It isn’t a matter that you _can’t_, it’s a matter of you aren’t _used to it_ anymore.” The man chuckled. “That’s why you four have soup. Until we can be sure of how far you’ve separated.”

_Please don’t let me share taste buds with this heathen…_ Yuri grumbled, pointedly not looking in Yugo’s direction, who ate like food was the thing he missed most while being a spirit.

Which, fair enough, Yuya agreed. _I don’t think we do, Yuri. Or Yuto would be eating too._ He was pretty sure that would happen if they did, hunger would win out eventually with their counterpart.

And it did, with Yuto taking a few hesitant bites of soup and the bread on his own. Yuya looked around the room again. Zane and Syrus were still there, talking to Jaden and Alexis. Crow had come back in too, talking to a brunette that Yuya didn’t know. He looked like Alexis though, Yuya guess it was her brother. Zuzu was helping Blair bandage up a guy in an outfit similar to the one Yugo had on, Blair berating the man for something as he looked apologetically at her.

Everyone seemed to be getting along, and his eyes drifted over to a familiar blue-haired shape on a bed near the back. Sora was asleep still, but Dennis was awake, his eyes hesitantly moving up to meet Yuya’s.

Yuya gave him a soft smile, and it was enough to make the other duelist relax.

_You’re forgiving him?_ Yuri’s question poked curiously at him. _He betrayed you, even tried to kill Shay and steal Zuzu._

_We forgave you. _Yuya pointed out softly. _And he did save me before then… he knew my dad. Besides, the war is over, Yuri. I’m not going to hold grudges against anyone. We won, that’s that._

Yuri hummed. _You certainly are an odd one, Yuya._

Yuya began to reply, but a soft groan from Shay’s bed stopped him. The sedative was wearing off.

He felt a twinge of worry, they were out of time to figure out what they would do, or how to calm Shay down.

“I think, he just needs help getting over the shock. Don’t you agree?” The mysterious man smiled a Yuya and Yuto.

Yuto looked over towards Shay’s bed before putting his bowl down. Feeling a bit better after eating, he moved carefully off the bed, crawling over Yuya.

Except Yuya was moving with him. The two shared a look.

Neither wanted to be apart. Even if it was just a few feet of space.

Shay _knew_ them. Yuya had grown closer to him, out of Yuto’s desperation to make sure his best friend was safe, out of wanting to know more about Shay, out of loneliness, desperation between the two, no, the three of them.

He could hear Yuri fake gagging behind them. “I already had to see the memory of _that_, don’t bring it up again!” Their fusion counterpart snapped.

They heard Yugo trying his hardest not to laugh, and the yelp when not one, but three spoons hit him on the head.

“I’ll let you two handle it.” Lulu smiled at Yuto and Yuya. “Calm him down so then maybe he’ll listen to reason.”

Yuto looked at Yuya. They could calm Shay down, and keep their counterparts safe. Yuya moved to get up, grateful to find that eating had solved about half the issues with standing. There was still some pain, but it was bearable as he and Yuto walked over to Shay’s bed.

They kept the curtain around it shut more for everyone else’s safety than for privacy. Yuto made no move to take off his jacket, neither did Yuya. There was a chill in the room that they couldn’t seem to shake.

For Yuya, it felt a bit awkward. There was still at thought in the back of his mind. Everything between himself and Shay was just desperation on both sides. He and Shay were only close because of Yuto, _for_ Yuto. That’s what everything had been between them, just Yuto.

The thought wouldn’t leave, especially when Yuto didn’t hesitate. Yuya felt like an intruder into something personal as the curtain was shut behind them, Yuto not waiting before climbing on the bed, laying down next to Shay, practically on top of him.

The only thing keeping Yuya from fleeing was Yuto’s hand still gripping his own.

“Yuya.” Yuto whispered softly to him, locking eyes with his counterpart.

Their bond was useful for more than just speaking. Yuto showed Yuya those nights through his eyes, the warmth Yuto felt for them both, how sometimes, he would leave Yuya and Shay alone.

Yuya climbed into bed with them, laying against Shay’s side, curling up close to him. He didn’t flinch when a shaking hand instinctively moved to his hip.

“Come on Shay, wake up.” Yuto whispered softly. One hand was still holding Yuya’s, the other combing through Shay’s hair. Softness, a stark contrast from how harsh Shay had been before. He had been willing to kill Yuri and Yugo before.

Yuya sighed softly, pressing a soft kiss to Shay’s shoulder. He still feels a bit out of place. But the anxiety of being away from Yuto won out, he stayed put. Even as Shay’s eyes slowly opened.

They were in Duel Academy uniforms. Different, but still uniforms. And Yuya was terrified of how Shay would react.

Shay saw him first, and Yuya winced at the betrayal in his eyes. Of course he would see the uniform first.

But Shay couldn’t do anything as Yuto grabbed him, pressing their lips together in a bruising kiss. He stared at Shay through it, even as his tongue pushed into his best friend’s mouth.

_Not a chance in hell is he going to hurt you in any way._

Yuya shivered. He had never heart Yuto sound so possessive. Shay was in shock, from the kiss, from Yuto laying on top of him, from Yuya curled up against his side.

Yuto finally pulled away, leaving Shay gasping. “Our outfits were filthy. Figured wearing something clean was better than getting blood poisoning from some shit out here.” Yuto’s voice was still rough as he panted, laying fully on top of Shay. “One word about it that makes Yuya cry, and I knock you out again.”

He was rough, keeping a hold of Shay with one hand. His other hand squeezed Yuya’s lightly, thumb brushing against the back of Yuya’s hand.

Shay panted, looking up at Yuto. He looked torn, like there was so much he wanted to say. “…You couldn’t say no to those damn jackets?”

Yuya couldn’t help it. He huffed out a small breath of laughter. “It’s cold.” He murmured, Shay’s eyes back on him. Yuya felt like he couldn’t breathe as Shay seemed to study him.

He and Yuto were separated, Yuto had his own body back, one currently draped over Shay. Shay was going to tell him to move, to leave. Yuya didn’t want to leave, he _couldn’t_ leave Yuto, _wouldn’t_ leave Shay. His breathing was getting hollow, near erratic like his heartbeat. His mind was screaming-

And it fell silent as Shay’s lips pressed against his. The hand that had been on his hip came up to cup the back of his neck. Unlike his kiss with Yuto, Shay kept the kiss with Yuya light, soft. Made to reassure more than to claim.

Yet Yuya melted into it. Melted like he did all the other times. When it wasn’t Yuto’s emotions controlling him but his own. His eyes slipped close, he tried not to cry as he gripped Yuto’s hand even tighter. They weren’t alone, Yuya wanted them to be. The three of them.

He felt like he was intruding.

Yuto was kissing Shay’s neck.

Yuya wanted to do that, or have Yuto do it to him.

Shay was pulling both of them closer.

Yuya let out a shuddering sob. He broke the kiss, breaking down in the process. Shay was supposed to hate him too. He had taken Yuto away from him. Yugo had dueled Yuto but if Yuya hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have died. He protected Yugo and Yuri. He wouldn’t have separated Yuto and Shay

He didn’t want to be separated from them, from_ Yuto_.

Everything seemed to crash in at once. He waited, waited for Shay to shove him away. He was dressed in Duel Academy clothes. He had stolen Yuto away. He couldn’t give Yuto up. He didn’t want to give Shay up.

But he couldn’t lose Yuri or Yugo either.

Concern drifted in waves over the bond, coming from all three sides.

Shay let him cry, thumb brushing over his neck.

Yuto did more. He pulled Yuya close, the movement finally prompting Shay to move, to hold Yuya closer, as much as his limited mobility with the bandages would allow.

_Yuya…_ Yuto’s forehead pressed against his own. Anxiety danced on his bond.

In some ways, his fears were the same as Yuya’s. There was Shay, there was Yuya. But there was one difference. Where Yuya feared Shay would push him away or punish him for everything, Yuto feared that he would lose Yuya, that he would have to face his own friend to save the person most important to him.

He feared being apart from Yuya in any way. Over a year of sharing a body, a mind, of their souls being connected more intimately than they could ever be with anyone else. He feared losing that.

Shay’s sigh broke the silence between Yuya’s light sobs. “You’re back.” He said to Yuto, but brought Yuya even closer, pressing light kisses to his face. His cheeks, his closed eyes, his nose, everywhere he could. Slowly, easily.

“You’re an ass.” Yuto replied. He kissed Yuya’s neck. The simple act sending a twinge of interest deep in Yuya’s stomach as he tried to stay silent.

“You’re both distracting me.” Yuya’s breath hitched when he felt teeth nipping at his jaw. “I’m not stupid.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Yuto countered, staring at Shay. “You were going to kill Yuri and Yugo.”

Shay hissed. Yuto’s free hand tangled in his hair, pulling his head back away from Yuya. Yuto’s lips were back at Yuya’s neck. Biting and sucking at the skin there, possessive and claiming as he stared at Shay.

_They’re ours._ Yuto’s voice growled in his head. Yuya whimpered, his head falling against Shay’s chest. It was a struggle to not grind his hips against Shay. Shay was injured, they all were.

They were in a room with other people, separated by just a thin curtain.

_You’re mine._

Yuya had no idea his neck was so sensitive. He panted silently against Shay’s neck. Possessive, there was still darkness in the four of them. But it was tame.

He felt Yugo shuffle, seeing through his eyes as he looked at Yuri. Both of them were affected by it too.

“After everything they’ve done-“

“They’re _us_.” Yuto hissed, silencing Shay. “We’re all parts of a whole named Zarc. If they weren’t here, you wouldn’t have us.”

Yuri was watching them, Yuya felt him close to himself. There was no outward signs, Yuri seemed as casual as he could be on the outside.

Yuya knew the arousal he felt wasn’t just his own.

“They’re _ours._ The war’s over, Shay. We _won_.” Yuto’s voice was deep, a growl again. Yuya trembled. “You want us, then they’re part of us.”

The room seemed darker, Yuya panicking for a few seconds before the curtain around them disappeared. Everything seemed to disappear, except Yugo and Yuri.

The stranger who looked like Yugi was standing in the darkness though, Jaden next to him with a smirk.

“Told ya, Atem.” Jaden said lazily. “So should we question what you and Yugi got up to 17 years ago? Because that’s totally you there.” He pointed to Yuto.

_Atem_. The name had been mentioned before. One of the new leaders for Fusion. _The_ leader for Fusion.

“You were spying on us.” Shay’s bluntness was welcoming to Yuya, who swallowed heavily. His mind felt fuzzy.

“Considering this darkness wasn’t caused by one of us, I feel there was need to.” Atem replied. “It’s coming from the four of you. And it’s good it did, you three there aren’t quiet, and Yugo is not subtle.”

Yuya blushed brightly. They hadn’t planned on distracting Shay like they did. Well, he hadn’t planned it like that. It had just spiraled out of control.

“You five are being moved.” Atem decided. “It’s obvious there are things you need to sort out. And a medical bay is not the proper place. Truthfully, I doubt it’s the proper way for you to handle things either.”

Jaden hummed. “I dunno. Worked well for some of us after my little Dark World stunt.” He chuckled. Yuya picked up on the defensiveness of it, the guarded look Jaden had, the sadness, guilt and regret.

He really would make a terrible performer.

“Look. Pick a room okay?” Jaden added. “Just… get it out of your systems. I get it. After a war, emotions are high, horny is a common response to the release of all that adrenaline. But it’s either we move you four _since none of you know how to block out anyone yet_ or Blair forces you all apart. And she’s small, but she’s mean. And she’s been talking to your pink haired friend.”

Yuya and Yugo both winced. _Please move us before Zuzu hits us. Or worse. Sends Celina after us._ Yugo begged.

“My room.” Yuri wasn’t looking at any of them. “I’m sure it’s still standing. It can hold the… five of us.”

He didn’t want Shay around. Yuya felt another wave of possessiveness stabbing at him from outside of his ow emotions. Part of him was scared.

Part of him wanted what he had with Yuto to be with Yuri as well.

That scared him more.

“Okay. Well then, welcome to your first Shadow lesson.” Jaden said. “Focus on your room and on the other four.”

Atem shot him a look. “Visualize your room, Yuri. We shall do the rest.” He instructed. “The five of you still need to rest, however. In three hours, one of us will check on you. And bring food. However after that, we will need to meet to explain things.”

If he said more, Yuya didn’t catch it. His mind was filled with the image of a large room. Purple, of course. A large four post bed in the center of the room. The windows covered by thick curtains. It was simplistic but regal at the same time. Two doors were in the room, one leading to the bathroom Yuri had mentioned, Yuya guessed. The other leading outside of the room.

He was certain that if it wasn’t locked, it was about to be.

And he was proven right, hearing the lock click shut, the darkness disappearing to reveal the room to the five of them, all on the bed.

Yugo shuffled awkwardly next to Yuri, who looked slightly annoyed.

At the situation. Yuya felt repulsion drift over their bond. Not at him, not at any of them.

Well… at Shay too.

But resignation was there too.

“Well? Get on with it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to skip the next chapter, go right ahead. My feelings will not be hurt. Next chapter is pure smut.
> 
> THERE IS NO RAPE/DUB-CON. I REPEAT. NO RAPE. NO DUB-CON. I know Yuri seems to not want to do anything. Trust me, I'm ace. I'm sex repulsed sometimes. I don't even have sex myself because I'm repulsed about having it.
> 
> Yuri is not. He leans towards sex-repulsed, and yes he is feeling everything through the bond, but it isn't just Yugo, Yuto, and Yuya's feelings he's getting. He's also getting his own. And while he doesn't feel sexual attraction, that's completely different from feeling arousal or desire or having a libido.
> 
> (also, friendly reminder that everyone is aged up)


	3. The Smut Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone but Yuri has sex yet he's the most satisfied out of all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking Christ 2.0 okay let’s see here. Yuto/Shay/Yuya are fucking. They can’t block their bond so Yugo and Yuri are feeling EVERYTHING. It’s 1:30 in the morning. Don’t do insomnia kids. (I say like my target audience here isn’t probably my age). Addicted by Kelly Clarkson is their sex song now. A wild fluff appeared because Yuto and Yuya are complete and utter dweebs together.  
THERE’S THE CRACK-ISH SHIT. Only took Yuto being a complete fucking sap and ruining the dominating air he had for it to appear. And Yugo too.
> 
> Notes unedited from how I wrote them forever ago.

Yuya took in a shuddering breath, Yuri’s words echoing between them. Yuto’s hand was still tangled in Shay’s hair as he looked at their fusion counterpart.

The bond was silent, but Yuya was certain they were speaking to each other in some way.

Finally, Yuto broke eye contact, moving his hand out of Shay’s hair.

“Yugo did nothing, Shay.” Yuto’s voice was still heavy. “We dueled, I lost. Zarc, the darkness, _that_ is what caused it. You _know_ I was still there.” He straddled one of Shay’s legs, Yuya balanced on the other.

Shay’s hips twitched upwards slightly, grinding against their thighs between his legs.

“Yuri is part of us. Leo Akaba had his talons in him since he was young. The same way we learned how to fight to stay alive, he did too.”

“He stole Lulu.” Shay growled back.

“She’s alive. She’s fine.” Yuto retorted.

It was agonizing, Yuya trembled next to Yuto. Yugo was of no help. He squirmed next to Yuri, unable to hide his own arousal in response to their arousal, feeding off of it and giving his own feedback. He knew Yuto and Yuri could feel it too. But it was like a game.

Who would crack first?

Yuya bit back a whine. Bit back tears. He didn’t belong there, Yuto wanted him there, wanted him, wanted just Shay, Yuya wanted Shay, he wanted Yuto.

Shay was the first to crack.

Yuya gasped as he was pulled down, Shay’s lips claiming his own without hesitation, the kiss was sloppy, all saliva and tongue. The angle made Yuya squirm, brushing against Shay’s leg with a loud moan swallowed up by the kiss.

The others were watching. Yuya trembled. It was a performance. A private show.

If it was a one time thing, he was going to lose Yuto to Shay, he would make sure the performance was too good to go without an encore.

His hand never left Yuto’s through everything that happened. Confidence, Yuya wasn’t sure where it came from.

Vaguely, he wondered if Yuri wasn’t pulling the strings in his performance again.

Yuya gasped into the kiss, eyes half-lidded as he and Shay finally parted. But Shay’s lips weren’t off of him for longer than a second, trailing down his neck. It was harsh, more what Yuya was used to with Shay.

He only ever saved gentleness for when he knew Yuya and Yuto were both there, or if Yuya cried. Yuya forced himself to cry a few times, if only to have a mimicry of the gentleness of Yuto.

Yuto let go of his hand, but he didn’t move away. His hands plastered themselves on Yuya’s hips, where the jacket and shirt sat just above his pants. Yuya’s breath hitched. His hips were always sensitive.

“This should not be hot…” Yugo’s mutter made Yuya even more aware of the two pairs of eyes on them.

“You may as well enjoy it.” Yuri sounded as if he were in complete control, but there was a slight edge to his voice. He raised an eyebrow when Shay glared at them.

“Stop.” Yuto’s hand was back in Shay’s hair, jerking his head back as he bent down, biting the smooth column of Shay’s neck. It was enough to make Shay buck up against them.

Yuya watched, his eyes slightly unfocused. The pants he borrowed felt too tight, he whimpered when Shay moved again, eyes locked on the dark red mark on the taller’s neck when Yuto moved back.

Roughness was nothing new, Yuya had seen memories of Shay and Yuto tearing into each other. What had once scared him from the intensity, had him curious.

He still felt like an intruder.

But then he was being moved. The hands on his hips guiding him to turn around, one moving to press on his chest, making him lay back against Shay. Shay’s hands found his hips then. He was still so sensitive there, just the light touch making him press up against Shay’s fingers, whimpering when Shay held him tighter.

“Look at you.” Yuto’s voice was soft, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips as he looked Yuya over. The red jacket had never been zipped up, Yuya leaving it open. The shirt underneath looking more than a bit ruffled. Cock straining against his jeans already.

His legs parted instinctively, draping himself over Shay and tilting his head, exposing his neck further to Yuto as he panted, staring up at him.

He wanted, needed to keep Yuto for as long as he could.

“Hey. None of that.” The soft voice turned into a whisper. Yuto moved closer, hands drifting over Yuya’s thighs, coaxing his legs to wrap around his waist as he straddled Shay’s legs. _Yuya. This isn’t a one-time thing. All those times, I wanted to be in Shay’s place so many times._ He admitted, pressing his hips against Yuya’s, rocking against him, pinning him against Shay.

It was such a difference from how Yuto had been acting towards Shay. His eyes looked at Yuya gently, lovingly. _It’s not our only time together. I’m here, I can finally touch you like this. We have to be a bit rough with Shay though._

_Distract him._ Yuya moaned softly, taking in a slow breath as Yuto leaned in to kiss him.

_Remind him we’re both here and we’re both alive. He’s upset and still in survival mode. Let’s give him a show?_ Yuto suggested. _Win him over with smiles once we get him in a good spot._

A good spot, Yuya felt like he was in one himself now. Yuto was paying so much attention to him, loving him and running his hands down Yuya’s chest, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. The anxiety was easing up. And arousal was still hitting him from all sides.

Shay’s hands gripped his hips tighter. Yuya smiled softly. Getting Shay into a good spot would require a bit more than just words. His own hands moved back, one tangling in Shay’s hair. _Yuto. Do what you want with me._

“I plan to.” Yuto purred out, breaking away from the kiss to nuzzle Yuya’s neck. His shirt was fully open, Yuya mewling in pleasure as Yuto kissed a path around his collarbone.

He heard a growl behind him, it wasn’t enough for Shay. “Shay. We’re both here.” Yuya sounded calmer, but his breath hitched when teeth worried the skin over his collarbone. “Everything’s okay. We’re safe.”

He tugged Shay’s hair gently, adding more pressure as Shay gripped his hips even tighter. “What are you two even planning?”

_Huh._ So he wasn’t as far gone as Yuya thought he was. Usually it didn’t take much roughness to get Shay to be an incoherent mess.

“Is this some sick game?” Shay glared up at Yuto, who met his gaze evenly. “What, the war’s over, you’re back, and one last fuck before you roll over for that Fusion monster and his Pawn?”

“Call me a pawn one more time-“ Yugo began protesting before Yuri’s hand was slapped over his mouth.

Yuri looked at Shay. “You think I’m happy to be here with you?” He questioned. “I’ve seen Yuto and Yuya’s memories. Frankly, I’d rather kill you and deal with that fallout than have you hurting them _again._” He said curtly.

“We’re here because we can’t be away from them. To be honest, you presence is the only thing keeping me soft. I may have followed orders that were ingrained into my head nearly from birth, at least I didn’t _use_ Yuya for some sick, twisted pleasure. How many times did you call him Yuto? Get upset because you realized you could tell the difference between them?”

“Pretty sad that the only time you were careful with him was when he cried. The guilt get to you?” Yuri taunted.

_Yuri._ Yuto said in warning.

_No Yuto. You know better than we do. He needs all this laid bare. Besides, I do enjoy tearing him down. It’s not like he can do anything with you two on him. Now get on with it._ Yuri replied. _Remind Yuya that he’s loved._

Yuya had gone quiet again. Yuri was right.

Shay… had only seen him as a replacement. The only link he had to Yuto left. Every time Yuya sought him out himself, it was rough until he cried.

But Yuya still stayed with him. Even when Yuto was resting. Shay liked being rough, Yuto was rough with Shay

Yuya didn’t like the roughness.

He panicked when Yuto moved back, moving to follow him. “Yuya.” Yuto’s voice was still soft. “Yuri has a point. I saw it too.”

He looked at Shay to find his best friend unable to meet his gaze, guilt and shame, embarrassment at Yuri being right, all reflected in a look that Shay tried to make look passive.

Yuya trembled.

“Let’s make this right. For you, Yuya.” Yuto said, pulling Shay to sit up with them. “And prove to Shay that everything’s going to work out.”

“What’s the point of me being here?” Shay asked harshly. “While it’s clear I’m not wanted here?”

He started to move away, stopping when Yuya wrapped his hand around his wrist, Yuto claiming him in another bruising kiss.

“Because this is for you too.” Yuto growled. The hint of darkness was back. “I’ve neglected you both, I couldn’t do anything. I’m not going to pretend to be blameless.”

Yuya knew Shay needed the roughness. A grounding point. Yuya finally understood.

Shay still wanted to fight. It was why he continued going after Yuri and Yugo now, even with Yuto and Lulu safe.

He was just as panicked as Yuya and Yuto were.

Yuya turned slightly, kissing Shay’s neck, his chest, any part he could reach that wasn’t covered in bandages. Yuto focused on Shay’s lips, one of his hands moving to unbutton Shay’s pants. His other hand touching Yuya, roaming over his chest, thumb rolling over a nipple and making Yuya gasp. Yuto pushed Shay back down on the bed.

“Enough stalling.” He said. “Yuri? Do you have lube at least in here?”

“Lube, but no condoms.” Yuri shrugged. “We can clean up any mess later. And it’s not like any of us have something catchable? Pity though, could’ve offed that one quicker.”

Yuto rolled his eyes. “Just find the lube, psycho.” He looked at Shay and Yuya. Gray eyes darker from what they had been doing. “I think we’re a bit overdressed?”

Getting undressed had been enough to leave Yuya a quivering mess again. Yuto helped him, it felt as if his hands never stopped touching Yuya. It had taken a bit of time, but Shay soon joined in helping him. Yuto refused help, watching and undressing himself as Shay finally showed gentleness with Yuya again.

He kissed Yuya softly, unprompted this time to be gentle. Yuya blushed, kissing back shyly.

They had never been fully naked before, or with an actual audience. His want to perform warred with his anxiety over that fact. He wanted the show to be good, since Yugo and Yuri weren’t participants, and there was still an air of awkwardness around all of them.

But when he looked over at them, Yugo was trying his hardest to look anywhere but at Yuya and Shay, even though his eyes were wide and hands attempting to hide how hard he really was. Yuri was doing a better job of looking disinterested… in them, anyway.

He openly leered at Yuto as he removed his pants though. “Yuri, don’t go into acting.” Yuto looked at him, one hand perched on his hip.

“What? I’m asexual, Yuto. Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate aesthetics.” Yuri purred, smirking at him. “If we’re going to be here, I may as well enjoy the view as best I can.”

“You can leave at any time.” Shay muttered, laying back next to Yuya, running his hand down Yuya’s side as Yuto grabbed the bottle of lube tossed at them.

Yuri shook his head. “Well, if you hadn’t attacked us suddenly and threatened to kill us, you would know that we _can’t_. We’re still bound together in some ways. So even if us leaving this room wouldn’t cause mass panic over our mental links, we couldn’t exactly go anywhere else while you three do your thing because we’re affected by Yuto and Yuya’s emotions and reactions.”

“So if any of you feel that, the other three are _forced_ into it.”

The hand on Yuya’s hip stilled, resting their possessively, nearly protective as Shay jumped to another conclusion.

“No.” Yuri said. “It’s not like we can feel each other physically, or else none of us would be moving. We’re all injured. But if you’re trying to imply that this is in any way non-consensual on our parts, the answer is also no.”

“We do have the option of getting off the bed and finding my headphones and drowning you three out. Or taking care of ourselves with a free show. Or simply doing nothing. If I didn’t consent to this, do you really think you would be alive?”

Yugo groaned, falling backwards on the bed. Yuri frowned when the movement put Yugo’s head straight into his lap. “Don’t worry about me! Pretty used to suffering awkward boners. They happen a lot during turbo duels, that’s why the suits are designed to protect and hide that fact. Besides, I wouldn’t say no to being with Yuya. Or Yuto, now that I’m getting a good look at him. Kinda wanted to ask Yuya at some point, but he seemed more interested in you during any down times.”

Yuya’s head snapped up, staring at Yugo. “You what?!” He squeaked out.

“Never really thought about you though, Shay. Since…” He trailed off.

“Since our duel was the catalyst to kill me so Yuya and I could merge?” Yuto offered. “Shay, you can’t blame Yugo for that one. Especially since he suffered the same fate.”

Shay huffed. “He still killed you.”

“Stubborn ass.” Yuto pushed Shay on his back, careful of the bandages, and looked his best friend over. “You have an arguing kink.” He said, fingers trailing over Shay’s erection. Even with the arguing and how he seemed to still hate Yugo and Yuri, it hadn’t gone down.

Yuya blushed, he was still hard as well, moving closer to Yuto. He noticed that they did look similar, and shyly, he reached out to wrap his hand around Yuto’s cock.

Yuto leaned in to kiss Yuya softly in response. “How about we get Shay to stop scowling?” He smiled softly. “I bet that can be our first step.”

“R-right.” Yuya nodded, blushing still as Yuto led him down, eyes widening when he realize what Yuto was getting at.

“You never did this.” Yuto hummed, smirking slightly. The two of them were at eye level with Shay’s erection. “Come on, I’ll teach you.”

He moved first, looking up at Shay as his tongue dragged along the underside of his cock. Yuya blushed further. It looked so obscene and lewd, how Yuto did it. But he watched in fascination as Shay’s breath hitched, the long shaft twitching with the touch.

_Oh come on. We know you aren’t a virgin Yuya. Gonna let Yuto upstage you like that?_ Yuri goaded.

“No commentary from the peanut gallery.” Yuto said before wrapping his lips around the head, bobbing down slowly and stroking what he didn’t take in. He pulled away, looking at Yuya. “Careful of your teeth. I’ll keep Shay from choking you.”

Yuya swallowed hard. Watching was one thing, but actually trying it…

_Put your thumb of your right hand between your middle and index finger and squeeze it._

Three heads turned towards Yugo, who was bright red. “I was lonely! So was Crow! He taught me!”

“For your sake I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Yuto said dryly. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Yuya.”

He wanted to.

Yuya took a deep breath, mimicking what Yuto had done. But…

All he could taste was sanitizer. Yuya grimaced.

Yuto snorted. “Okay, maybe I should’ve warned you.” He chuckled. “Looks like Yugi got Shay with the same cleaning spell thing.”

There was a huff of laughter, from Shay, which made Yuya smile softly. Things seemed to be diffusing between everyone in the room. Yuya sat back, content to just watch as Yuto returned to his task.

But something was different when he did. Yuto gripped the base of Shay’s cock as he worked, eyes never leaving Shay’s even as his friend moaned softly. “You. Are not coming yet.”

The commanding voice was back, deep and rough, making Yuya shiver.

“You did use Yuya. But you’re remorseful about that.” Yuto commented, sitting up. “You used him to get me. While Yuya did agree to it, it was wrong of you to do when you didn’t care for him first.”

“Then you tried to stoop so low as to harm Yuri and Yugo when they couldn’t defend themselves. When we both promised to _never_ do that.” Yuto added. “You blindly went after them, even after Lulu and I said to stop.”

“And now, you continue to bicker.” Yuto sighed, shaking his head. “It can’t be helped. You’re hurt. So lay back.”

Shay rolled his eyes, relaxing further against the pillows on the bed. “And what do you plan on doing?”

“Making at least one of these things right.” Yuto narrowed his eyes. “Yuri can hold his own, you don’t seem to be mad at Yugo anymore. So that leaves _my_ Yuya.”

Yuya bit back a whimper at the possessive claim Yuto laid out. His…

Yes.

Yuya relaxed. Yuto called him _his_. To Shay, nonetheless.

He could feel it over their bond, fierce protection, possessiveness, affection, _love_. Yuya felt like crying.

Shay looked way. “Yuto…”

“Don’t, Shay. I know.” Yuto’s voice softened slightly. “Grief. But that doesn’t make it alright for you to drag Yuya into it like that.”

He tilted his head, looking over at Yuya. “So, if Yuya agrees. I think I know a punishment for you. Every time you were with Yuya, you looked for me. Well, I’m here now. No need to play hide and seek.” Another snort of half-laughter from Shay. “Instead. Maybe you could see Yuya for himself.”

“But, you won’t be the one taking him.” Yuto added. “I will.”

Yuya looked at Yuto in surprise. It was something they talked about before, in a rare moment of peace between duels. Just before their duel against Leo Akaba. It would’ve been doable, both tucked away in a soul room, Yugo or Yuri in charge of Yuya’s body. They never had the chance to try.

It would have been as spirits as well, which held a completely different feeling.

Yuya didn’t realize he was nodding until Yuto was pulling him closer, kissing him softly, deepening it as his arms wrapped around Yuya’s waist. Yuya’s hands came up to card through Yuto’s hair.

He was sensitive there, Yuya found that out one day when he himself had fallen asleep to Sylvio messing with his hair. Yuya typically found it relaxing, but not _that_ much. And especially not while Sylvio was failing in his attempts at braiding it. He knew it had to be a quirk picked up from sharing a body with Yuto.

Yuto smiled into the kiss, their tongues brushing against each other as he deepened it further, using it as a distraction as he grabbed the bottle of lube again, warming some up on his fingers before pushing one gently into Yuya.

Yuya whined at the feeling, trying to stay relaxed but still not used to it. Preparation was usually a rushed affair. It hurt for a while, but Yuya was fine with it.

Yuto took his time though, keeping the deep kiss slow, seeming determined to get Yuya to melt with every movement.

And Yuya wasn’t the only one affected by it. When they broke apart, Yuya panting, trying to catch his breath, he could see Shay watching them both. Golden eyes darker with want and desire as he stroked himself slowly.

Yuya blushed when he noticed Shay wasn’t the only one doing so. Yugo was refusing to look at anyone, turned slightly away from them, but the way his arm was moving was unmistakable. Yuri was watching him with a smirk too, something Yugo seemed determined to ignore.

_Yuuuugo._ Yuya stretched out his name, giggling when he jumped. _I promised to put on a performance… how can I if the audience doesn’t watch?_

His confidence was coming back as Yuto added in a third finger. Yuya moaned softly at the stretch. It didn’t hurt, Yuya was starting to see the appeal in sex beyond wanting to be close to someone.

It honestly felt good with Yuto.

Yugo looked over at them, but refused to move.

“Oh come on. We all shared a body for fuck’s sake. How is it that _you_ ended up being shy one, anyway?” Yuri asked. “I thought it would be Mr. Anxiety over there.” He gestured to Yuya.

“I just am, okay!?” Yugo snapped.

Yuri sighed. “Come here. If Yuya wants an audience, the least you can do is indulge him. Especially after a confession like the one you just made to him.” He grabbed Yugo’s arm, tugging him over to sit, his back resting against Yuri’s chest when he landed between Yuri’s legs. He reached out for the lube Yuto tossed at him, putting some on his hand before wrapping it gently around Yugo’s cock.

“W-what?!” Yugo squawked out, gasping as Yuri began moving his hand, his head falling back against Yuri’s shoulder.

“Yuto? Continue.”

Yuto shook his head._ Our counterparts are such an odd pair, aren’t they?_ He kissed Yuya again, removing his fingers with a smile.

“Okay. Ready?” He asked Yuya, who nodded. “Good. I want you over Shay. Come on.”

Yuya looked at Shay, crawling on top of him, staying on his knees but lowering to rest his arms on either side of Shay’s head, looking curiously back at Yuto. “Yuto…?”

“Just like that.” Yuto murmured. _You look beautiful like that._

Yuya whimpered, arching his back when he felt hands running on his skin. _Shay?_

_I think he’s going to like his punishment. Keep your chest against his, but don’t go any lower._ Yuto draped himself over Yuya’s back, making Yuya’s breath hitch. Having Yuto mount him like that, skin against skin, Yuto slowly pressing into him.

Yuya couldn’t hold back a light moan, especially as Shay’s hands began roaming over his sides. He stayed still, Yuto’s hands on his hips helping him stay grounded. Yuya gripped the sheets on either side of Shay’s head, laying his forehead on Shay’s chest.

“Gods, Yuya.” Yuto moaned over him, not stopping until he was fully in. “Watch him, Shay. Don’t take your eyes off of Yuya.” He ordered, moving his chest off of Yuya’s back and giving a few light thrusts.

Yuya gasped, his back arching, trying to find an angle between him and Yuto that would make the feeling even better. The movement pushed him closer to Shay, and Yuya squirmed when he realized the taller duelist was following Yuto’s order to watch him. Shay was staring at him, watching every little movement Yuya made.

And his eyes never drifted up to look at Yuto. They were glued on Yuya, watching the performance he was putting on for them. Yuya whimpered, moving up to kiss Shay. Feeling shy but unable to get enough of having all eyes on him.

“You’re going to wreck him.” Yuri’s voice was a purr as he watched Yuto thrust into Yuya, twisting his hand with every stroke he gave Yugo. “Three hours might not be enough, Yuya might have an even bigger audience.”

Yuya opened his eyes, looking over at Yugo and Yuri as Shay kissed him back, humming as Shay’s hand came up to his chin, keeping his mouth open as his tongue thrust into Yuya’s mouth. Yugo was pressed fully against Yuri’s chest, squirming between his legs as Yuri stroked his erection, giving up on protesting to just watch instead. His head draped back over Yuri’s shoulder.

_We so need to figure out how to block emotions._ Yuri complained. _I’m not in the mood for myself to participate more than this._

_You don’t have to. _Yuto was the only one to reply. _I’ll try to hurry it up. _He bent down, thrusting harder into Yuya and biting at the skin on his shoulders, sucking and leaving darkening marks wherever he could.

Yuya moaned loudly, breaking the kiss with Shay with a choked gasp as a hand wrapped around his erection. “N-No… I’ll come…” He whined, rocking between Shay’s strokes and Yuto’s thrusting.

“Isn’t that the point?” Shay whispered to him, watching Yuya’s face still. “Come, Yuya. You look beautiful like this.”

It was enough to send him over the edge. Yuya screamed as Yuto’s thrusts finally began to ram against his prostate, Shay’s thumb swiping gently over the head of his cock, and Yuya was gone, coming hard against Shay’s stomach. His head fell to rest on Shay’s chest, panting and whimpering as Yuto continued to thrust into him before coming inside of Yuya with a soft groan.

“Yuya.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to Yuya’s neck. Yuto panted, running a hand though his hair.

_Yuto. Assistance? Someone either has stamina for years, or stage fright._ Yuri huffed, nipping and sucking at Yugo’s neck as he tried to get their counterpart off.

_Maybe it’s your technique!_ Yugo snapped, his hips rocking up into Yuri’s hand with a moan.

_And what do you want me to do? I need to reward Shay for being good._

_I can help._ Yuya whined as Yuto pulled out of him, feeling his come dripping on his thighs. _Hold on, just let me lay down._

Yuya rolled over off of Shay, laying between him and Yuri. _Yugo, come here. Please? Fuck me?_

_Who would’ve thought, one orgasm later and our dear Yuya loses his word filter._ Yuri let go of Yugo, pushing him towards Yuya. “Go on. I’m fine here.”

Yuya smiled shyly as Yugo crawled over him, seeing the nervousness in his counterpart’s eyes. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Yuya soothed, wrapping his arms around Yugo’s neck as Yugo began kissing his neck.

“I want to.” Yugo’s breath was hot against his neck. “With you, I want to.”  
  
Yuya moved his hips up when Yugo wrapped his arms around him, moaning as Yugo pushed into him slowly. “D-don’t go slow.” He begged. “Please.”

Yuto smirked, watching Yuya and Yugo for a few moments before Shay squirmed underneath him. “Oh alright.” He sighed, giving his friend a soft smile. “Do you feel like not being an ass now?”

Shay glared at him, moaning when Yuto’s hand wrapped around his shaft. “Keep watching Yuya. Yugo isn’t hurting him. Neither is Yuri.” Yuto said, moving to kiss Shay softly.

It seemed to calm his friend down as they both watched Yugo and Yuya. Yugo was rougher with Yuya than Yuto had been, thrusting into him and bringing him up for a bruising kiss that Yuya returned with another moan.

Yuya didn’t mind the roughness, as Yugo soothed every harsh thrust with hands roaming over Yuya’s chest and waist, fingers pinching his nipples and gripping his hips, it didn’t take long for both of them to come. Yuya’s back arched against the bed as Yugo held himself up over Yuya, coming inside of him with a soft groan.

Shay didn’t last long after them, coming as Yuto stroked him through it.

“There, do you all feel better?” Yuri hummed. “Because we have about fifteen minutes left before someone checks on us.”

Yuya giggled, looking over at Yuri. “That really didn’t affect you like it did us?” He asked curiously.

“Oh it did. I just have self-control.” Yuri smirked at Yuya, running a hand through the pendulum duelist’s hair. “And no sexual attraction to _anyone_, on top of no real need or want for sex right now. One day, maybe we can have some fun, Yuya.” He purred.

“If you bring any sort of tentacles into this, I’m leaving.” Yuya stared at Yuri.

“Oh how vanilla of you.” Yuri joked with a chuckle. “Besides, you three are sending satisfaction over our bonds in waves. I feel just fine without participating as much as you three did.”

Yuya hummed, happy to lay under Yugo and squirming when the other finally pulled out. “Okay… that’s not a feeling I’m ever gonna get used to.” He grimaced. He felt sticky, and a bit gross.

“It’s not that bad of a feeling.” Yuto shrugged, licking his fingers clean of Shay’s come. “Or a taste.”

“Yeah if you like the taste of sanitizer.”

Yuya smiled softly as Yuto laughed, rolling over to snuggle up to Shay’s side. “You’ll stay with us for now, right?”

“You ask that as if I have anywhere else to go.” Shay huffed, curling an arm around Yuya. “I’ll stay for now. But… I think it’s better if this was our last night.” He admitted.

Yuto nodded in agreement, and even Yuya couldn’t argue with it. He knew they wouldn’t stay with Shay forever, now that they were separated.

Had they not separated though, Yuya wasn’t sure. If he and the others were still sharing his body, he would have stayed with Shay. Out of guilt, mostly. Had Zarc come back, then the girls would have probably disappeared. Leaving Shay completely alone, his sister and lover gone, his home destroyed.

Yuya wouldn’t have left him. Not when he could at least give him Yuto back.

But Shay was letting them go, seeming content as Yuto laid on his other side. One last night together.

“You three have fun then.” Yugo stretched. “Yuri, you mentioned a bathroom in here? Cause a shower sounds _really_ good.”

“Yes, it’s this way.” Yuri stood up off the bed, looking back at Yuya and Yuto. “First test to see how far apart we can actually be, and for how long. I need a few things from my bathroom as well, perhaps if we’re split up so no one is alone, it should be easier.”

It would be a good test. So far, they hadn’t tried being in separate rooms. But Yuya felt nothing bad through their bonds as Yugo stood up as well, following Yuri to the bathroom.

_Feeling good so far!_ Yugo said as the three in the bathroom hear the water turning on.

_We’re good out here._ Yuto told them, moving to straddle Shay’s hips.

Yuya smiled softly, reaching his hand out to take Yuto’s. _Yeah. We’re good._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look Yugo/Yuya appeared there too. That was unplanned.
> 
> So who's ready for the rollercoaster ride that is emotions? Because as you notice, Yuto seems pretty good here. But in Welcome To The Show, separation anxiety is hitting him like a ton of bricks. I wonder what could've happened to bring on that change....


	4. Hello Darkness Welcome Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I started this entire thing as an excuse to write Yuya and Yuto cuddling. Now it's turning into a full blown AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuya in the last chapter: We’re good!  
Plot: No. No you’re not.
> 
> Hello children it’s angst time. Already got some of that with Yuya feeling like he wasn’t important to Yuto or Shay, well now it’s time for more! Because this prequel is dark. It’s dark, it’s messy, it’s the days right after the war ended, and no one is okay. Not even the older crews who have their own fucked up events!  
Why do I torture Shay so much? I swear I need to write a fic where he just gets all the hugs. I mean from what I know of the ending to Arc V… he needs all the hugs anyway.  
(and Shay’s using they/them. Just warning in the first chapters that it happens in)

It had taken a week for plans to get off of the island to finally be done. One long, tiring week. Yuya never wanted to hear the word ‘debriefing’ ever again. If they weren’t spending time in the makeshift medical wing, they were _still_ fighting of Academy supporters. If it wasn’t that, they were meeting with Declan and Atem to be kept informed in what was happening.

If none of that was happening, Seto Kaiba would find them.

Yuya wanted to marry Joey, he decided. The only one who could save them from Kaiba’s constant tests and experiments. None of them were _bad_ really, they were necessary tests and the girls were going through the same. But Kaiba reminded Yuya of the worst parts of Declan. Way too focused, too into his work. And forgetting that sleep is a thing that normal people need. Joey had stormed in after 8 straight hours of testing, which came after 3 hours of listening to Declan and Atem, and 6 duels between the four of them.

They had been exhausted. And Joey was an angel, stealing Kaiba away and giving them a chance to escape. Yuri’s room had turned into a sort of base of operations for the Lancers. The operation?

Resting.

They were all tired. And with the war winding down, tired was the best feeling some of them had.

“We’ll be moving soon.” Yuri’s voice was void of emotion as he stared across the room from his bed, not even moving as Yugo leaned on his side. “Tomorrow, or today. Jaden said we’re staying at the old Slifer dorms on a different Academy Island.”

The past week had seen Yuri being stolen away from them countless times by Jaden, and returned soon after by an exasperated Yugi. They were concerned for his mental health, given how Sora had snapped again the second he woke up. Dennis had broken down soon after, not going violent, but Yuya had been worried for a while with how depressed he was.

He was sitting at Yuri’s feet, one of the only people from their group actually sleeping. His side was pressed against the bed, head pillowed on Yuri’s lap.

Affectionate gestures were something no one blinked at eye at in the Lancers. Taking comfort wherever it was offered.

Yuri only minded being kidnapped by Jaden when Yugo began to get uncomfortable. Kaiba’s testing at least gave them more information on their bond. Yuya and Yuto were bonded closer to each other than they were to Yugo and Yuri, and the same was true for their counterparts. Kaiba said it happened that way due to who ‘absorbed’ who first. Becoming whole a week and a half ago hadn’t given them as much time for a completed bond to form. It hurt for all of them to be apart, but as Yuri had guessed, it was lessened so long as Yuto and Yuya were together, and Yugo and Yuri together.

“Any word on Sora?” Yuya asked softly. He sat with his back against the wall, Zuzu leaning on one side of him, Yuto on the other with Lulu sprawled out on his and Shay’s laps.

“They’ve kept him sedated.” Shay answered, petting their sister’s hair. “After he woke up and tried to fight Jack and Atticus. They already moved him too, a woman named Mai took over his care. I think she’ll be enough to get Sora to stop.”

Yuya tried to remember if he had met Mai before. The name sounded familiar, but there had been so many new names and faces, it was too much sometimes.

“What about our dimensions?” Rin asked from her spot at Yugo’s side.

Celina sighed, leaning against Yuri’s desk. “Standard is fine. They have someone there informing everyone who needs to know what’s going on. Synchro is in a bit of chaos, mostly from New Domino drastically changing and some people getting memories that they didn’t before. I heard Yusei Fudo is working together with Jack and Crow on that one. Apparently he’s their brother or something. And we’re all stuck in Fusion for the time being.”

“And our dimension?” Lulu asked softly. “Celina, you’ve been in all the strategy meetings… what’s going on with XYZ and Heartland?” She begged.

“…Rescue and recovery.” Celina admitted, trying to hide a wince when Lulu sobbed. “The dimension fused with something, but they haven’t quite figured it out yet. And Heartland… wasn’t like New Domino.”

Yuto gripped Yuya’s hand tightly, trembling as he heard what was going on in his dimension. His _home_. “We have to go back…”

“Impossible, for now.” Celina shook her head. “Trust me, I tried. Our transporters in our disks have been disabled. On top of that, someone has a signal blocker on. So even if we stole new duel disks, we couldn’t use them to leave. Magic is the only way to do it. And while they’re saying the eight of us have magic, nine if you count Shay and his psychic dueling, we don’t have the power or control to teleport ourselves, let alone each other.”

“Kite’s already gone back though. They think he’s in the same spot Alexis, Crow, Jack, and Aster are. Having memories of the other universe. So no one stopped him, if anyone can figure out what’s going on there, it’ll be him.”

Shay growled. “So we’re just supposed to sit here and _wait?_”

Celina looked him and nodded. “Yes. I know it’s hard, trust me, I do. But we can’t rush. And I can’t tell you _everything_. Or they’ll lock me out of these higher meetings too. All I know for certain is that no dimension is being left to ruin. The XYZ dimension has someone in those meetings. Someone we all, somehow, have a connection to.”

“Who?” Yuto asked.

“Yusho Sakaki.” Celina said, looking at Yuya, who stared back with wide eyes. “Everyone who was carded is back. Including your father. He needed a few days to rest, but he was at the last meeting. He’s standing in for both Standard and XYZ for now. Until either Kite comes back or Shay recovers enough to handle a long meeting.”

“I want to see him.” Yuya stood up quickly, hissing in pain when the movement pulled at his ankle wrong.

Injuries were nothing new to any of them. But with each duel they had, it felt as if they were getting injured more. Getting sloppier with their work as the reality of the war ending set in. And finally feeling their wounds as the adrenaline of fighting wore off.

“You’re in no condition to.” Yuri pointed out. “Besides, they’re probably having another meeting, and there’s no way they’d let any of us in on those meetings.” His hand carded through Dennis’s hair as he looked around.

“But… I agree with Yuto. Everyone seems to have everything under control here. We’d all be of more use in the XYZ dimension. Once we’ve recovered.” He added. “We could help with rebuilding and rounding up the rest of Obelisk Force and Duel Academy supporters. And it seems like Yusho will be our ticket there.”

Yugo groaned. “But how are we supposed to get him? Wait weeks for all of us to heal? Have Yuya throw a brat fit and hope it gets them to bring Yusho here?”

“I’m not throwing a fit.” Yuya deadpanned. As much as he wished to see his father, he wasn’t about to turn into a spoiled brat about it. Zuzu pulled him back down to sit between her and Yuto again.

“We’ll figure it out later.” She soothed, looking up when the door to the room opened.

“Figured you all would be in here.” Crow sighed as he walked in, Jack and Alexis following him as he carried Riley in. “Seems everyone finally grew a few more brain cells and realized the kid here shouldn’t be in all this war stuff.”

He set Riley down, smiling softly when she ran quickly over to Yuya. Yuya didn’t hesitate in hugging Riley tightly, keeping her on his lap and looking over at Crow. “I don’t suppose you guys can tell us what’s going on?” Yuya pleaded.

“We’re not supposed to.” Jack said, taking one of the empty chairs in the room.

He was still like a King, but Yuya could see there was resignation in his stance too. _Like_ a King didn’t mean he was one anymore. And with so many powerful duelists around, it seemed he had stepped down. But he was still part of the Lancers, all three of them were.

They were familiar, yet strangers at the same time. Yuya was happy and relieved when Crow still hung around them, even though he was a _Signer_ as well. He wasn’t too sure what the Signers were, but Crow told them it was connected to their dragons. Crow was still their friend, and Jack was still on their side.

He looked over at Alexis. Really, she had changed the most out of the three. There was an air of grace and danger around her that hadn’t been there before. She worked together with the newer duelists like they had dueled together their whole lives.

_They have._ Yuto looked at Yuya. _She has memories of being with them for years. And some of the things they talk about sound so much similar to what we’ve gone through. She’s been through two wars._

“Not supposed to, but I see no reason to keep it from you guys.” Alexis said. “You deserve to know what’s going on, even if you’re still young.”

“I’m older than you are.” Shay pointed out.

“By two months.” Alexis smiled softly. “And this isn’t my first time having to deal with something like this. Believe me, I know how it feels to have stuff planned around you when really it should be including you. Especially you, Yuto, and Lulu.”

“Look, there’s decisions being made past moving all of us back to our Duel Academy. The first of which is that Yuri, Celina, Dennis, and Aster aren’t to be left alone. Because you guys were with Duel Academy during the war. Celina, I know you weren’t, but they’re using it as an excuse to keep an eye on you, Zuzu, Lulu, and Rin too.”

“If Kaiba tries to run more tests on us using that as an excuse, I’ll show him what the bottom of the ocean around here looks like.” Celina warned. “We aren’t test subjects.”

Alexis nodded. “You’re not, but he’s done the same thing with Jaden and Yusei.”

Yuto looked up at Alexis. “So everyone knows everyone, then?” He asked. “From this other universe?”

“Not exactly.” Crow said. “We know Jaden, Yugi, Atem, and Kaiba. And that was it for the Signers.”

“And we knew Yusei.” Alexis added. “But there was a lot of time distortion going on that led to that. You see, our world was separated into four dimensions as well, but not in the same way your’s was.”

“There was our dimension, comparable to Standard here. Then a Spirit dimension- fused with the Shadow Realm, the dimension of the gods- also Exodia’s realm, and a fourth dimension called the Dark World. Take XYZ how it is now… but replace people being carded with them being slaughtered. Carding does kill a person, yes. But being sent to the stars…” She shuddered. “I’d rather be carded.”

“But something happened a few months before this fusion of our worlds happened. Dragons started disappearing, and everything seemed to be falling apart. It turns out that someone named Paradox had gone to the past to kill Pegasus. And Yusei, Jaden, Yugi, and Atem had stopped him. Unfortunately, that also caused a few rips in time between the dimensions, ones that never healed. So while Yusei was from the future, we weren’t exactly sure if the future was even still the future.”

“Well that’s confusing.” Shay commented.

Jack nodded in agreement. “The only thing anyone could think of was that our universe was beginning to split apart, much as this universe did. But in doing so, a lot was going wrong.”

“So Jaden took matters into his own hands… and used Super Polymerization again.” Alexis said softly, grimacing at the name of the card.

“That card holds special meaning to you?” Yuri guessed.

“It’s what we were killed to create.” Alexis said bluntly. “Ask Jaden about it. But he tried to use it again to fix the timeline we had, using magic as a power source this time. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, it was about the same time Yuya and the others began to fuse into Zarc as well. And then…”

“The Crimson Dragon locked onto me here.” Jack sighed. “Because I somehow still had some of my Signer powers, even though no Signers existed in this dimension. But you attempting to form Zarc caused a rip in the universe, and Super Polymerization wasn’t working. So the Crimson Dragon stole that power and focused it on this world, using me as an anchor.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight.” Zuzu started. “This is all because of magical god dragons interfering with two different universes. Said magical dragons are _real_ and not just Solid Vision. And everything just gets confusing from there?”

“Yes.” Alexis and Crow both answered.

Yuya groaned. “How about we go back to Yugo’s plan of me throwing a fit to get my dad to come here? That sounds like less of a headache.” He admitted, hugging Riley and laying his head on Yuto’s shoulder. “I don’t think I want to be in those meetings if this is how they go…”

“Oh no, that’s how they _went_.” Alexis corrected. “Now they’re talking about the magical side of things. Turns out this universe doesn’t like there being two Supreme Kings. The biggest magical outburst? The one that stopped you four from becoming Zarc? Was Haou winning out over him.”

“Now who the fuck is Haou?” Yugo groaned, covering his eyes with one hand. “Alexis, you have too many friends.”

“Haou is Jaden. Technically.” Alexis said. “And according to him, the Supreme Dragon King was a complete pushover who “willingly” split into four again.”

_Well that explains why we weren’t able to fully fuse together. And why we were separated again._ Yuri realized.

“Can we just go back to the original plan of dying from headaches?” Yugo pleaded. “Too much info in a short amount of time. Nevermind, I don’t wanna be in those meetings. Yuya I’ll throw the fit for you, I can copy your voice, if it gets them to stop explaining things.”

Yuto snorted. “That’s what we get for being nosey I guess.” He shook his head. “We’ll just chalk all of this up to magic being real and leave it at that for now.”

“Well, _they_ can.” Crow smirked, looking at Yuto and Shay. “But _you two_, have a meeting with Akiza later this week. As the first natural psychic duelist of the new crew, she wants to talk to you two about it and get you both inhibitors.”

The look shared between Yuto and Shay was equal parts exasperation, fear, and something that screamed the two were ready to rebel against everyone. “The _three_ of us sorta can’t go anywhere.” Yuto said, pointing to Yuya. “One, it’s impossible for Yuya and I to be apart.”

They had tried a few days ago, being in two separate rooms farther apart than Yuri’s room and the bathroom were. It had not gone over well, and Dark Rebellion had not looked too pleased to show up only to find Yuto and Yuya panicking.

Though he did seem to get along with Gandora, which scared Yuya a bit. The surprising thing had been that Dark Rebellion was _actually there_. Not created by solid vision. Yuto had summoned him fully in his panic. It was probably that event that led to Akzia wanting to talk to him. And of course, it was no secret the mess Shay created of the Friendship Cup arena.

One of the new duelists had stupidly asked for Shay’s help in a duel against some Obelisk Force members a few days ago. And that had led to part of the east side of the island collapsing.

_Maybe inhibitors aren’t a bad idea…_Yuya realized.

“Two, I don’t want to walk anywhere. We stopped Leo Akaba, saved the universe, I think we can be lazy for one day.” Yuto continued. “And three, Akiza’s inhibitor is a hair clip. Shay can totally wear one, but me? No.”

“If that’s a jab at boys not being able to wear hair clips, try again with a different excuse Yuto.” Yugi smiled as he walked in, a floating tray of drinks behind him. “Because I can rock a hair clip just as much as I do the collar.”

“Okay hair clips are genderfluid. Doesn’t mean I’m wearing one.”

“Well you’re in luck then. Yours is a bracelet. Shay’s is a necklace.” Yugi said. “Now, I have coffee for Shay, Celina, Yuri, Dennis, Jack- yes it’s Blue Eyes Mountain, and Rin. Tea for Zuzu, Lulu, Yuto, Sylvio, and Gong. Soda for Yuya, Yugo, Alexis, and Crow. And apple juice for Riley.” He listed off, the cups floating over to their respective people.

Yuri took his and Dennis’s, nudging the boy awake carefully. “Thank you.” Yuri said softly.

The older duelist smiled at everyone. “There’s good news by the way. You’re all cleared to know everything that’s going on as soon as we move. You’ll also have more freedom to move about on the island as you please.” He let them all talk excitedly about it for a moment.

“However.” He interrupted. “There are a few rules. Riley, of course, cannot be left alone. Kaiba has his men there to assist with this, but I agree with Declan that she’d probably feel safer with people she knows.” Yugi smiled softly.

“Girls, you’ll be speaking with Ishizu later. She’s a friend of mine and honestly, probably knows more about what’s going on than anyone else. I know you four are counterparts too, she plans on helping see what exactly that means.”

“Shay, per Declan’s orders… you aren’t allowed anywhere alone.”

“That’s bullshit.” Shay began to protest.

“Given your ability to jump to conclusions and the aggressive way you handle said conclusions, I’m inclined to agree with Delcan on this too.” Yugi admitted. “I’m not saying you’re going to be followed around by a guard. I got him to agree that anyone here would be best. Yuri and Dennis are on the same restrictions due to their connection to Duel Academy, and Sora as you know is staying with a friend of mine.”

“And Aster?” Yuri asked with a smirk. “That Cyber Duelist seemed to have quite the grudge against him.”

Yugi shook his head. “There’s a lot of bad blood between Zane and Phoenix. Not that I blame Zane… He’s being held separately both for his own safety and for questioning. Since he had such a high position here at Duel Academy, and since Zane is out for blood, and Jaden is in no hurry to reel him in.”

“There is a more pressing issue though. All of you show varying degrees of malnutrition. Those from Heartland the worst while those from Standard are the best in the group.” He added, folders appearing in his hand. “Kaiba’s no stranger to treating malnutrition, so a vitamin plan and meal regimen were easy enough to come up with. They’re gradual steps so no one should feel sick from what’s planned out. But you each do need to see the specialist once we’re moved.”

“They’ve been informed on what’s happening. We have two specialists working together but you’ll only meet with one of them. Now, any questions?”

“Are you going to confuse us more with talking about what happened?” Yugo asked warily.

Yugi chuckled softly. “No. We’ve actually put everything together into a document on the network connection between everyone’s duel disks. So you can choose to read it if you want to, it should explain all of that.”

“Can I see my father?” Yuya whispered, looking up at Yugi.

“Yes.” Yugi answered softly, smiling at Yuya. “He’s been asking to come see you ever since he was discharged from the medical bay. Things have just been too busy so far, but he’s at the island waiting for all of you.”

“But before we do… there’s one more matter for us to discuss, Yuya.”

* * *

“So, what do you think we should do, Mr. Second-in-command?”

Yuya groaned, leaning back against the wall. “Shay, please don’t start calling me that…” He begged them. “I didn’t even want the position. I thought _you_ would have it! You’re closer to Declan!”

“I’m closer because he thinks I’m a dog who needs to be on a short chain.” Shay pointed out, sitting down next to Yuya.

They were on their way to the other island, going by boat. Magic had been the first plan, but Atem had seen right through them. The second they learned magic was going to be used to move them, everyone seemed to get the same idea.

Sabotage. To send them to the XYZ dimension instead. From what they had seen, magic was more will-based than anything else. And they were all in agreement on where they would be of most use.

Until Atem informed them they would go by boat instead, and Declan had dropped the bombshell on them.

The older groups all worked with a hierarchy. Yuya had guessed they were, but he wasn’t entirely sure until Jaden explained it to them. Each group had a leader, a second-in-command, and it went down from there. _No wonder they weren’t phased by the war… they all live like war is just around the corner._ Yuya realized. They were organized, even though Jaden seemed flighty, Yusei forgot he was even a leader half the time, Jack complained about it, and Kaiba seemed to do nothing but argue with Atem.

The leaders were easy for Yuya to point out. Yusei, Atem, Jaden, and Declan had joined them for the moment. It made sense, he was the leader of the Lancers. But unlike the older ones, Declan had no second-in-command. Crow, Kaiba, and Zane were the only ones.

It was no wonder Crow so easily took the lead whenever the Lancers would gather without Declan during that week. Though Jack didn’t seem too enthused about it. There was a power struggle with the Signers, and it was sometimes amusing to watch. When they asked Yusei about it, he simply shook his head, saying he would let his brothers sort themselves out.

Kaiba had been a surprise, he didn’t seem the type to follow orders from anyone. But for all his arguing, he did listen to Atem’s orders, though they were more like suggestions. They had thought Yugi would be his second, but Yugi had laughed at that.

“I have a different title. You’ll find it out later.” Yugi had told them.

Zane made the most sense. Jaden’s group willingly listened to him, and Jaden himself even checked decisions with him. The two worked well together, better than the other two pairs.

But that had left Declan. And he had seen the advantages to having a second.

“Then mine is… Yuya Sakaki.”

Yuya had been certain he heard Declan wrong, until Yuto had nudged him. “N-No way! Not me!” He protested. “Why are we even doing this?! The war’s over! Dueling is supposed to be fun, I’m a dueltainer, not a commander!”

_The war isn’t over._ Yuya remembered what Jaden told them.

“Duel Academy lost their leader, but they still have supporters everywhere. That’s the thing about war, it’s never over.” Jaden smiled sadly. “Even when you think it is, it comes back to haunt you. And this war is far from over. Fusion still has a fight on its hands, Synchro is going to face new challenges, Standard will probably become a safe haven from the war, and XYZ…”

Yuya closed his eyes, slipping his goggles on. _We’re just kids. Why are we still fighting? The adults could handle it._

_You know we can’t just leave everything._ Yuya didn’t need his eyes open to see Yuto staring at him. _Even rebuilding is part of war. Sometimes, it’s the hardest part._

Yuya sighed. He wasn’t sure about going to Heartland, hearing the hurt in Yuto’s mind.

Going back could break him, and Shay and Lulu too. There was no telling what they would find going back.

Even with everyone who was carded coming back… people from Heartland were still missing. Yuya wasn’t stupid. ‘Missing’ was another word for ‘probably killed before they could be carded, and just their body was missing’. Including some of their friends, even their families.

Shay and Lulu’s parents weren’t found.

Yuya felt sick, hugging his knees to his chest, grateful when he felt Yuri tugging on their bond.

_I can deal with that easier than you can._ Yuri said. _When we get there, you and Yuto go find your father. I’ll deal with Declan if he tries to get you to actually stay put._

Yuri would have made a better second-in-command, Yuya thought. Yuri, Shay, Celina, they had the experience.

_You know that’s not why Declan picked you._ Yugo sat down on Yuya’s other side, Yuto pacing the small room on the boat. _He doesn’t want war experience. He wants influence, more than that, I think he wants kindness._

_Look at all the other pairs. Yusei and Crow? Yusei’s a hermit most of the time and Crow’s more comfortable in social situations. Jaden and Zane, Truesdale is ruthless. Look at how he treated Aster Phoenix. Jaden is like those stories about Loki the trickster. The Pharaoh and Kaiba? Pretty sure I’ve heard enough stories about them to write a ten book novel complete with side stories. _Yugo explained.

_Declan’s a leader… but he has the social abilities of a newborn moose. He works well in situations like this, he’s commanding, but he’s also out of place. So he needed someone who can read the room better than he can. Someone to make our group seem level, approachable, and strong at the same time. Shay’s ruthless, Yuri is an unknown factor to most, and Celina’s doing too much already._

_But then there’s someone here who’s kind, who can light up a room with just his presence alone. Who’s personality screams ‘look at me, I want all eyes on me, and I want them to be happy when they finally look away’._ Yuya blushed as Yugo spoke between the four of them. _Someone who’s influential without negative manipulation. Someone… who wants to start the healing process for our worlds where everyone else wants to work on damage control._

“Yugo…” Yuya whispered.

“It’s true, Yuya.” Yuto stopped pacing, smiling softly at him. “When you think about it, you’re the most obvious choice.”

“Took ya that long to realize it?” Crow smirked, looking back at them from his seat with Jack and Sylvio.

“I still say _I_ should’ve gotten that position. It’s obvious I’m far better for it!” Sylvio protested.

“You’re better off as a door stop.” Crow countered. “Declan chose you because everyone’s still focused on damage control. But you’re right, Yuya. Dueling should be fun! I’ve had enough fighting for two lifetimes.”

“Is that why you’re still here?” Yuya lifted up his goggles, looking at Crow. “And Jack and Alexis?”

Alexis nodded, smiling softly. “You have a point. When I helped Yusho create the Duel School in Fusion, I did it because I wanted kids to see dueling as fun, not as a war zone. Jaden understands that too, and Jesse agrees with us as well.”

“Hmph.” Jack crossed his arms. “Synchro, New Domino… the Tops, Commons, Satellite. Dueling has always been about fighting. Even when we were the Enforcers. To be frank, I’m sick and tired of it. I’m a Signer, but I’m also a Lancer. Yusei and Akiza can handle themselves for a few weeks.”

“Weeks.” Yuya murmured, looking around at everyone. Jack, Alexis, Zuzu and Lulu, Yuto, Sylvio. Even Shay was smiling slightly at him. “Y-You say that like I actually have a plan.”

“Don’t you?” Shay asked, their hand reaching out to squeeze Yuya’s. “Face it Yuya. If it were up for debate, we’d pick you as _leader_.”

Yuya closed his eyes, squeezing Shay’s hand tightly and taking Yugo’s hand in his free one. He still had his doubts, he wasn’t a leader. There was no way he could be. But there was still a performance to put on. And the stage…

“Three days.” Yuya opened his eyes, looking more determined and surer than he had felt before. “We have three days to prepare, then we’re going to Heartland. No matter what.”

“Yes!” Zuzu cheered. “We’re gonna help in the best way we know how!”

“We may still have a fight on our hands there.” Yuri warned. “Who knows how many of Duel Academy might’ve escaped to try and finish the job.”

“But if we duel, we do it to try and change minds.” Lulu said. “Like Mr. Sakaki taught some of us!”

“Like Yuya taught all of us!” Crow grinned. “We’re Lancers, but we don’t fight for war any longer!”

“We don’t fight, we duel!” Yugo cheered loudly. “And we duel to entertain!”

“Then let’s swing into action!” Yuya jumped up, caught up in his friends’ excitement. “We’re taking control, and doing things our way!”

* * *

Seeing his father again had made Yuya even more sure of himself.

Yusho had waited for them at the docks, Yuya froze when he saw him pacing worriedly there. For three years, he had thought his father dead. Only for Zuzu to find him in Fusion, teaching at a hidden school started by him and Alexis. Unable to return to Standard, and from what Alexis had said, unwilling to leave until Duel Academy was taken down.

The kids in Fusion needed him, Yuya could admit they needed his father more than he did.

He felt hesitance, worry drifting over his connection to the others. For the first time, Yuri almost looked scared. He had carded Yusho, right in front of Yuya in his madness. Yuya sent a wave of reassurance and affection to his Fusion lover.

And he was off the ship before it had even docked.

“Yuya!” Yuto and Yuri yelled as he jumped over the edge, rolling and landing safely on the dock.

“You know, if your mother had seen that, she’d kill us both.”

Yuya looked up, seeing his father walking over to him. “Dad…” Yuya jumped up, throwing himself at Yusho and hugging him tightly. “You’re here. Y-you’re actually here…” He sniffled.

“I am Yuya, I’m here.” Yusho soothed, hugging his son.

“Mr. Sakaki!” Zuzu was running down the ramp as soon as the boat was docked, squeaking as Yuya pulled her into the hug as well.

“How many times is it gonna take for you to call me Uncle?” Yusho chuckled. “It’s good to see you both in once piece! Well… eight pieces.” He looked past the two towards the boat. Everyone was coming off of it, the six counterparts standing closest to the three.

Yuya looked back towards them too, smiling at his lovers. _Oh… that’s going to be fun to explain…_ He realized.

Yugo snorted. _You just now thought of that?_

Lulu shook her head, leading the group over to Yusho. “Mr. Sakaki, it’s good to see you again.” She said happily.

“It’s good to see you again too, Lulu.” Yusho smiled. “And you must be Rin, Celina, Yuri, Yugo, and Yuto, correct?”

“That’s right!” Zuzu said, stepping back to stand next to Lulu. “How much did they tell you…?”

“Everything.” Yusho admitted. “About you and Yuya having counterparts in each dimension, I had my suspicions when I met Lulu. But I was caught up on what happened.”

He looked over to the boys. “Including that my son was very close with one of you for a long time. And that the four of you share a connection.” He smiled softly. “Yuto?”

The boy flinched, looking at Yusho warily. He was Yuya’s father, and Lulu and Zuzu knew him. But he still felt wary about meeting _another_ new person after so many had shown up. “You can’t be far away from Yuya for now, can you? Come on over here, it’s alright. You’re trembling.”

Yuya looked over at Yuto. His father was right, Yuto’s hands were shaking. _Yuto? It’s okay. Come on._ He coaxed. _Come here._

Yuto too slow, measured steps over to the pair, still unsure, but he could feel the other three encouraging him, even Yuri. When he was close enough, Yuya grabbed his arm, tugging him into the hug as Yuto blushed in embarrassment. “Y-Yuya!”

Yuya laughed. “It’s okay.” He smiled.

“It is.” Yusho agreed, hugging both of them. “I saw the files they have on the three of you. No parents to be found, for any of you. And since you’re all part of Yuya, and he’s part of you too, then I’ll be a father for you.”

Yuto’s eyes widened. _Wh-what?_

_Dad just adopted you. And Yugo and Yuri too. Wait ‘till you meet mom. Well, see her again, in your case._ Yuya grinned, falling into a soft smile when he noticed the tears in Yuto’s eyes.

_I don’t… I never… _Yuto sniffled, hugging Yusho tightly.

_How much of that is him, and how much of it is Yuya projecting on us?_ Yuri looked hesitant when Yugo dragged him over as Yuya beckoned them closer.

“How about we get everyone settled in the dorm?” Yusho suggested.

“Good idea.” Alexis smiled. “Come on, we’re staying in the old Slifer Dorm. The perfect spot for a band of war-stressed orphans and misfits.”

~`~`~`~`~

Yuya grinned. He knew finding his dad again would be a good thing.

Yusho walked with them to the dorms, Yuya clinging to him on one side, and his free hand pressed comfortingly on Yuto’s upper back. Yuya was amazed at the change he could see in Yuto. He seemed more relaxed, secure.

If having someone else on his side was all it took, Yuya wished he could’ve helped Yuto sooner.

Even Yugo and Yuri seemed to be doing better, Yugo walking next to Yuto with Yuri on Yuya’s other side. Yuri was still tense, but it wasn’t as bad as before.

“Okay, we have the rooms split up already. Thanks to Chazz deciding the entire dorm needed remodeled after we graduated and they built a new dorm for Slifers, we have room to adjust as needed.” Alexis explained.

“But the girls have one room, right next to mine. It’s a room made for six people, so you won’t be cramped.” She explained. “Crow and Jack have the room right above their’s. It’s made for four people, and child-proof.”

“Thank the gods for that.” Crow murmured. “I gotta talk to Shinji, but I think he’s bringing the Jackals tomorrow. Yusei can babysit ‘em.”

Alexis nodded. “Next to your room is one for Dennis, Gong and Sylvio to share. Below their room is a room for the rest of the guys and Shay. Same size as the room for the girls, so five of you sharing should work out. And there is a door connecting the two rooms.” She smiled softly at Shay. “So you can still be close to Lulu.”

“And then on the other side of the boys is a room for Declan and Riley.” The small child was holding Alexis’s hand as they walked to the dorm. “But since Delcan is still busy…”

“Riley can stay with us!” Rin smiled at her as Riley nodded shyly. “You said our room is made for six people, so we have plenty of room!”

“Alright.” Alexis agreed. “You’ll also find wardrobes and a closet in your rooms. Feel free to wear whatever you like from there. And don’t worry, there aren’t any uniforms.”

“Shame. I don’t really mind this Obelisk uniform.” Yuri hummed, looking at the dark blue uniform he wore. “It’s not like a military one.”

“I just want my riding suit back.” Yugo groaned.

Rin smiled back at Yugo. “Well you’re in luck! I was able to get you a new one.” She said happily. “Same style and everything! Akiza helped me with it.”

“Rin remind me why we aren’t married yet.” Yugo said, throwing his arms around her neck. “Seriously. Run away with me Rin-rin! I’m sure we can find someone on that island to marry us!”

Rin laughed, shaking her head. “No way! You’ve turned high maintenance since I was kidnapped. I’ll leave the others to deal with you.” She teased.

“Paws off her, Yuko.” Celina warned, smirking when he jumped back. “He has a point though, yellow looks horrid on the banana.”

“My name’s _Yugo_!”

The arguing over Yugo’s name didn’t last long as they reached the dorms, everyone splitting up for the night. Yuya smiled, going to follow Yugo and Yuri before his father’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Yuya. You’re planning something.” Yusho noticed.

Yuya flinched. “Wh-what makes you say that?” He laughed nervously.

“You’re just like your mother.” Yusho chuckled softly. “It’s clear to see. Just… be careful, okay?”

“I will dad. I promise.” Yuya smiled, hugging his father again. “We’ll be careful.”

“Alright. And if you need help, you can come talk to me about it.”

Yuya nodded, stepping back and taking Yuto’s hand. “I promise.” He smiled happily. “But the only plan for now is to sleep! I think we’ve only gotten three hours total between the four of us.”

He waved to his father as they walked into the dorm room. It was a fairly large room, painted a soft cream color with hardwood floors. Against three of the walls were bunk beds, six beds in total between them. And a small kitchenette, bathroom, and closet in the room as well.

“Fancy.” Yugo hummed, looking around the room.

“You consider /this/ fancy?” Yuri asked.

“Hey, you had that big room all to yourself. My place in the Commons was like, the size of your bathroom. Not counting the garage, where I decided to sleep in so Rin-rin could have the main room.” Yugo countered. “And our tournament money wasn’t a lot. I made sure most of it was for Rin, and rent, and gave some to the school that was running next to us.”

He collapsed on one of the lower beds, crossing his arms. “The Friendship Cup was my first time sleeping on a fancy bed. And then I had to lose it to chase down your ass.”

“It’s not my fault my ass is so fabulous you felt compelled to chase it instead of finishing the tournament.” Yuri smirked.

Yuto snorted, walking over to one of the dressers in the room. “Come on you two, stop fighting and get changed. The sooner we go to bed, the sooner we can be up tomorrow.”

Yuya stretched, smiling softy when Yuto held out a set of pajamas to him. They all changed, Yugo and Yuri continuing their banter as Yuya climbed up to one of the higher beds.

“Hey no fair!” Yugo pouted as Yuto climbed up with Yuya. “Why are you two sharing, anyway? There’s more than enough room for everyone to have their own bed.”

“Because we want to?” Yuto raised an eyebrow, looking at Yugo. “It’s easier to sleep this way.”

“Just shut up and sleep by yourself.” Yuri said from the bed above Yugo, slapping him in the face with a pillow and knocking him backwards across his bed. “You were the one whining about beds. Enjoy having it to yourself.”

Yuya laughed, smiling when Yuto crawled on top of him. “Hi.” He whispered. “Really don’t want your own bed?”

“Nah. I’m getting used to sharing with you.” Yuto smiled, touching their foreheads together before kissing Yuya softy.

“And you two. _Sleep_. Not sex.” Yuri warned. “I do have good aim with these pillows.”

Yuto chuckled. “Fine. Sleep.” He looked at the bed below them, where Shay was already laying down with his eyes closed. “Night, Shay.” He whispered, laying next to Yuya.

Yuya closed his eyes, falling asleep easily, curled up against Yuto’s side.

* * *

It was around two in the morning that Yuya realized the plans might be harder to work out than just picking a time. It wasn’t only the others they had to work against, but themselves too.

And the nightmares.

Yuya jolted awake to hear screaming, sitting up quickly and automatically reaching for his duel disk.

There was already a monster in the room. A confused looking Vanishing Lanius. He didn’t even know mechanical birds could look confused. But it was there, perched on the free upper bunk bed and staring down at Shay’s bed.

“Shay! Shay, it’s okay. It’s alright.” Yuto was already down there, hand gripping Shay’s arm. “It was a nightmare, it’s okay.”

Shay was shaking, their eyes wide with terror, unfocused even as they looked at Yuto.

“It’s okay.” Yuto soothed, hugging Shay tightly, running one hand through their hair as their arms wrapped around Yuto just as tight, clinging to the back of his shirt.

“Yuto… Y-you…”

“I’m here.” Yuto whispered. “We’re all safe. It’s alright.”

_They woke up screaming for Yuto and Lulu._ Yuya looked across the room to Yugo. _And then the bird showed up, that Vanishing Lanius. _

_We’re lucky it was just that one…_ Delcan’s decision to not leave Shay on his own made even more sense to Yuya. _What if Yuto wasn’t here to help?_

Nightmares weren’t anything new to them. It wasn’t uncommon, especially during the war, for someone to wake up from them. Usually whoever it was would wake up someone else, even if they didn’t mean to. Yuya hoped Riley wasn’t staying alone in her room, in case she had one too.

He climbed down from the bed, watching as Shay’s shoulders shook. He was sure they were crying, and trying their hardest to stay quiet.

“We’re going to go get Lulu.” Yuri whispered, climbing down from his bed as well. He looked at Yuto and Shay, curiosity in his gaze. But he said nothing more, dragging a yawning Yugo behind him who only gave a light protest.

Yuya sat down on the bed next to Shay, reaching out to gently rub their back. Shay was always the one to stay quiet if they had a nightmare. They never woke anyone up. Not that they needed to, spirits never needed sleep.

It wasn’t rare for Yuya to wake up to a tugging at his own spirit as Yuto moved around with Shay. He couldn’t go too far, they guessed fifteen feet was as far as Yuto could’ve gone from him. But the fact that Shay could _see_ him surprised them both. Yuya usually fell back asleep quickly. Yuto knew how to best help them.

But staying quiet must have left everything to build up, Yuya wondered if that was why Shay had reacted so violently to Yuri and Yugo. Trying to find an outlet, something to finally force the emotions out. They tried to stifle their sobs still.

Even as Lulu joined them, sitting down silently on Shay’s other side. She leaned on them, wrapping her arms around her sibling.

“Oh Shay, it’s alright.” Lulu whispered. “We’re here. The four of us are alright.”

It took only a few seconds for Shay’s arms to wrap around Lulu and Yuya, clinging to them as Yuto clung to Shay. No one said a word, letting Shay calm down in their own time. But Lulu looked over them to Yuya, worry in her gaze.

She had the same thought he did, Yuya realized. Would three days be enough for them to be ready in every way? Yuya knew if they tried to leave Shay behind, it wouldn’t be pretty. But was bringing him with really the right answer too? To see Heartland again, to help recover what Yuya knew wouldn’t be carded souls anymore.

Would any of them be ready?

They stayed together for hours, Yuya blinking slowly as sunlight began to filter in from one of the windows in the room. At some point in the night, the four of them had moved back on the bed, laying down with Shay between him and Lulu, Yuto laying on top of Shay.

But there was a warmth against Yuya’s back. Two small arms wrapped around him and holding on to his shirt so tightly he could almost see the tension in the person’s hands. There was only one person he could think of that it could be.

_Sora._

_What about him?_ Yugo asked. Yuya listened, hearing movement coming from the open door to the girls’ room, where he guessed Yugo and Yuri had stayed after sending Lulu in.

_He’s here. _Yuya turned around carefully, getting Sora to let go of his shirt and facing his younger friend. “Sora?” He whispered.

Seeing him awake wasn’t surprising to Yuya. Sora always seemed to be a light sleeper. Once, Yuya would have blamed all the sugar Sora seemed to eat in a day.

He felt sick to realize that Sora probably trained himself to sleep lightly, being in Duel Academy.

Sora’s eyes were wide and fearful though, it was evident that he had been crying, and was trying to not cry any more. Yuya wrapped his arms around Sora, letting the younger cling to him and closing his eyes.

“It’s okay.” Yuya whispered. He knew it wasn’t okay, _Sora_ wasn’t okay.

Duel Academy had trained him from such a young age. Sora was only _twelve_, but he had been forced into a war instead of just school. Yuya felt a twinge of sadness. At twelve, his only worry was passing a math exam. But Sora had been trained, conditioned as a child solider.

And Yuya could see the effect it was having on him. Sora looked like he hadn’t slept at all since the war ended. Like being sedated had been the only way to get him to rest. His hair was out of its usual ponytail, falling down around his shoulders. He was crying, and Yuya held him close.

Sora was as close to a little brother as Yuya felt he could get. It hurt seeing him so broken down, so lost. “Y-Yuya… I don’t like this.” Sora sobbed lightly. “I’m scared… o-of me…”

“Sora, it’s okay. I’m here.” Yuya whispered, feeling Yuto’s hand brush against his back, a silent show of support as he woke up and realized what was going on. “I’m here. You’re safe with me.”

_How did he get there?_ Yugo asked.

_I don’t know. But he’s terrified. Of himself, more than anything. _Yuya ran a hand through Sora’s hair, trying to soothe him. _I think we need one of the adults. My dad or Yugi or maybe Yusei? _

_Crow said something about Akiza being more helpful to some of us. _Yugo said. _Hold on, I’ll go ask him if maybe she can help with Sora. Wasn’t he with that Mai woman?_

_He probably snuck out of wherever they were hiding him. Not that I blame him._ Yuya fell silent, focusing on Sora. The best he could do was to try and calm him, and wait for Yugo to get help. He let Sora cry, curling up around him slightly out of reflex when someone moved behind him, wanting to protect the boy he saw as a brother.

“It’s just me and Lulu.” Yuto soothed. “We’re going to see what the fridge has for drinks.”

Yuya nodded, grateful that Shay seemed to still be asleep. He wasn’t overly worried about how they would react to Sora being there, but Yuya had noticed how they had gotten the least sleep out of everyone before.

They stayed like that until Lulu came back over, gently shaking Shay awake. “Come on Shay. You need to drink and eat something. Then you can go back to sleep.” She said gently as they woke up.

“I’m fine. I don’t need more sleep.” They murmured, sitting up. “When did our room become a gathering spot for strays?” Shay asked as he looked at Sora.

“When Yuya’s little brother escaped his room to find him.” Yuto replied, handing a bottle of tea to Shay.

Yuya smiled softly when Sora seemed to relax with Yuto’s words. He pet Sora’s hair as the younger seemed to be calming down, sitting up with him. “Sora, how are you feeling?” He asked softly.

“Still scared.” Sora sniffled, clinging to Yuya. “My head hurts, and I know I attacked someone a few days ago… I hate being like this…”

“I know.” Yuya soothed, hugging Sora as the smaller climbed up on his lap, rocking him gently. “It’s alright. It was Jack and Atticus, neither of them are mad at you. Attacking them wasn’t okay, but you aren’t feeling okay either, I can tell.”

He moved to try and stand up and help Sora up, only to find Sora’s grip tightening on his shirt. So Yuya lifted him up, carrying him to the table in the kitchenette, sitting down with Sora on his lap on one of the chairs. “It’s okay. Yugo went to get Crow, he might know someone who can help you out.”

Yuya smiled softly as Lulu set two bottles of tea down for him and Sora. “Sora? How about you let Yuya up so he can change for the day?” Lulu asked.

“N-no… I want to stay with Yuya! I’m staying with Yuya!” Sora shouted.

It was like a switch flipped as he turned in Yuya’s arms, trying to punch Lulu, who jumped away quickly as Yuto moved in front of her. “Sora!” Yuya grabbed his hands as Sora sobbed. “Sora it’s okay. You’re staying with me, I promise, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He soothed, hugging Sora again.

“Come on, you’re here with me.” He shared a worried look with Yuto.

_Close the door to the girls’ room. Riley’s in there, this might upset her._ He said to his counterpart.

_Right._ Yuto looked from Yuya to Sora before going to shut the door, whispering a quick explanation to Zuzu.

“Not right now.” Yuya heard him say. “Sora just needs Yuya, wait until Crow’s here, then we’ll see.”

Yuya went back to rocking Sora as he sobbed, covering his ears with his hands. “It’s okay.” He helped Sora turn to sit across his lap, rubbing his back gently.

A few tense minutes- though they felt like hours- later, there was a knock on the door, Yugo opening it and leading Crow and Akiza inside. “I found them as quick as I could.” Yugo panted. “Ran around everywhere…”

“I told you Akiza was on her way.” Crow rolled his eyes. “Geeze, you’re just like Jack.” He smiled at Yuya, walking over and crouching down in front of him, in Sora’s line of sight as well.

“Hey, you’re the kid who jumped from the helicopter to my bike. That was one reckless stunt ya know. Yusei gave me quite a talk when he heard about that.” Crow chuckled. “I heard you’ve been having trouble.”

Sora clung to Yuya, turning his head to hide against the older’s chest. “Aww come on, I know I can’t be that scary. Leo and Luna don’t think so, anyway. They’re about your age.”  
  
Yuya looked confused for a moment. Leo and Luna… he didn’t know who they were. “My oldest rugrats.” Crow explained, seeing the confusion. “Well, Yusei’s, technically. The two with the teal hair. Leo wears a ponytail, Luna’s in pigtails.”

_No wonder Crow knows what to do._ Yuto looked over. _He has two kids around Sora’s age… maybe that’s what Sora needs?_

_What Sora needs…_ Yuya echoed. Of course, that could help. Sora was just a child still, and Crow knew how to handle kids. “Sora? It’s okay.”

“Your name is Sora, correct?” Akiza finally spoke, walking over. “I’ve heard about what happened. I had something similar happen to myself as well.”

Sora looked hesitantly up at Akiza. “Y-You did?” He whispered.

Akiza nodded. “I was a little older than you when it started though. But I was recruited into a cult. One that collected psychic duelists and was going to use us. Their leader, Sayer, took a special interest in me and my training. I was trained to be a weapon, manipulated into believing everyone else was against me. That only Sayer knew me, and had my best interests in mind.”

“He manipulated me into being the perfect weapon. But for years, I didn’t see it as manipulation. He flattered me, made me feel special, important. Like I had more purpose in my life.”

Sora nodded slowly. “The professor did the same to me. He said I was a good solider. Me and Dennis and Yuri… I tried my hardest! I wanted to be better than Dennis, and Yuri too! I could do it!”

“But that was the wrong choice.” Akiza said bluntly. “He didn’t praise anything good. He liked how you could hold a knife, but didn’t care how you held a pen. Every attack was met with approval, but grades were only letters to him. He manipulated you into what he needed. But Yuya, Zuzu, they cared about _you_, right? Your grades, your dueling, how much fun you were having.”

“Yeah! B-but I had a mission! No one understood… and I wanted to keep Zuzu safe, but going back to Duel Academy hurt. I had to do the mission, but I didn’t want to…”

“And you were conflicted. Between being loyal to Duel Academy, or to your friends.” Akiza nodded. “I know. I was torn between Sayer and Yusei for a while. Until Sayer’s death, when Yusei was able to help me see the truth.”

She smiled softly at Sora. “You feel safer with Yuya, don’t you?”

“He’s… my big brother.” Sora hugged Yuya tightly. “Mine. And I’m not leaving.” He said stubbornly.

“I’d never split up siblings.” Akiza soothed. “But being a solider isn’t the only issue, is it? You’re scared. Because sometimes there’s too much noise in your head and you can handle it.” She smiled softly when Sora tensed.

_Hit the nail right on the head there._ Yuto looked over curiously.

“Jack doesn’t blame you for lashing out. My darling husband told me what happened.” Akiza explained to Sora. “You were crowded by people you didn’t know. Your mind told you it was bad and you had to fight.”

“I don’t want to fight.” Sora shook his head. “I… I have to fight… I…”

His breathing was getting quicker. “N-No. I’m fine! I have to be!”

“You aren’t fine. That’s why I’m here. I can help, Sora.”

“No!”

“You know you need help, but having someone else say it hurts. You want help, but while you don’t know exactly what’s going on, you don’t want to hear about it. Because you’re scared you’re going to hurt yourself, or hurt Yuya or Zuzu.”

“Shut up!” Sora screamed, his eyes wide as he flew out of Yuya’s grip before Yuya could stop him.

He didn’t need to as vines wrapped around Sora’s arms, pinning them behind his back. Another set caught his legs, making Sora fall short of tackling Akiza. He screamed again, trying to get free.

“If you throw a fit like a toddler, you’ll be treated like one.” Akiza scolded.

Crow stood up, leaning over to whisper to Yuya. “Don’t worry. Kiza knows what she’s doing. She’s been raisin’ Leo and Luna. They’re not _bad_ but Akiza’s methods are… effective, to say the least.” He explained.

“How did she… the vines…” Yuya stared as Sora still struggled, screaming and shouting at Akiza as she helped him sit up. Akiza said nothing, letting him get it out of his system.

“Psychic duelist. Her dragon is the Black Rose dragon. Yuri’s gonna love her.” Crow smiled softly.

Sora soon began to quiet down again, tears falling down his cheeks as he sobbed out his frustrations. Yuya started to get up, wanting to comfort him, but Crow’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“It hurts, I know.” Akiza moved, making the vines disappear as she lifted Sora up, holding him on her hip as he cried into her shoulder. “Fits are never fun. You’re feeling a lot of bad things in your head, and you don’t know how to handle them. Leo’s done the same before, Luna’s usually quiet if it happens to her though. And I had a bad one after Sayer’s death, I really hurt Yusei and my father.”

She looked over to Yuya. “I’m going to take Sora for now. Mai knows where he is. You can come see him in about an hour, give me time to help him calm down.” Akiza smiled. “I’ve seen this before, in child abuse and neglect cases. And I’ve lived it too, though I only had a few years of manipulation and abuse to fix.”

“From the files… Sora’s been at Duel Academy since he was two years old.”

Yuya winced. He knew it was bad, but he didn’t know _how_ bad. “Is it possible to call my mom?” He asked. “Sora likes her, she treats him like family.”

“I can try.” Akiza nodded. “Kaiba and Yusei have been working on expanding the duel disks here to link across dimensions. If not, we’ll send someone.”

As she rocked Sora, moving to take him with her, Yuya slumped back in his chair. Tea forgotten, he held his head in his hands. _Can we really leave? Can we really face what’s in Heartland if we can’t keep it together now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shay and Sora are two of my favorite characters. I swear they are. Don't let this fool you.
> 
> And Yuya and Sora are adopted brothers. That's a thing now. Nothing on paper yet, but it's a thing.
> 
> Also, I believe this is now AU from Welcome To The Show. I meant it as a prequel to all those things, but so far it's not matching up fully to what I wrote there. So I think it's best to have them as separate things, sorta have Welcome To The Show as an AU of the AU?
> 
> And this thing was 20 pages long. And it's PART 1 of essentially the "Heartland arc" of this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least they're finally going to Heartland (and I'm finally watching Zexal.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jumping right on in. Sora’s getting help from Akiza, Shay’s recovering from his nightmare, and no one is okay still!  
Also Shay’s last name is not Obsidian. Fuck that, Kurosaki is better.
> 
> Yubel is referred to using they/them as a gender-neutral dragon demon. Same rules as in NGoS for Yubel.
> 
> Yugi’s duel disk is finally mentioned! It’s similar to the one he has in Next Generation of Shadows. For those who haven’t read it/don’t want to, it’s basically Kaiba’s duel disk from Dark Side of Dimensions, but it has the white and pink coloring of the duel disk Yugi gets in the same movie. Complete with the headpiece.
> 
> Also, I’m changing some more ages around. For Crow’s kids. Amanda is 10, Frankie is 6, and Tanner is 3. Why? Because I can.

Yuya sighed, looking at the cup of warm tea in front of him.

The old Slifer Dorm had a cafeteria, which they had quickly turned into a gathering point for the Lancers. Even a few new members. Jesse and Syrus stood off to the side near Alexis, as Leo and Luna talked softly with Riley at one of the tables under the watchful gaze of Jack. Chazz was near the doorway, arms crossed as he attempted to look uninterested in what they were doing.

“So that screaming was Sora?” Zuzu asked worriedly.

Yuya nodded. “Yeah. It was Sora.” He admitted softly, leaning on Yuto as his counterpart sat next to him. “Akiza was figuring out what was wrong with him and… it was so sudden. He just snapped.”

“He said he wanted to stay with Yuya.” Yugo added. “But he attacked Akiza, or tried to. She used some vines to stop him. Your name came up too, Zuzu.”

“Sora’s our friend.” Zuzu sat back in her chair, smiling softly at Rin as the girl took her hand. “He’s like a little brother to us and Gong.”

There were a few people missing from the group. Declan, Gong, Celina, and Sylvio had gone to the main campus. To see the specialist first, and to find out more about what was going to happen. Yuya’s only focus was on Sora though.

“Do they know what’s wrong?”

Yuya shook his head. “No. I heard a lot of terms tossed around though. Bipolar, just a mental breakdown, autism, psychopathy, sociopathy…”

“Well, if it’s autism then Yusei could speak to him.” Jack hummed.

“I think Sora’s had enough strangers around for a while.” Yuya said, finally drinking some of his tea. “I’m going to go see him soon.”

He was worried about Sora, but there was tension in the group. Yuya knew he had to focus on getting them to Heartland as well. With or without Declan. He was hesitant to include Riley, but she wouldn’t budge. She wanted to go with them. Luckily Crow and Shay were also going, two people Riley trusted.

“But first… how many of us are actually going to Heartland, when we go?”

“All of us.” Alexis smiled softly. “Crow said Shinji is as well. And we may have Atticus too.”

Yuri shook his head. “Some of us should stay behind.”

“Some of us are.” Rin answered. “I am, Gong and is too. I don’t… think I’d be of much help.” She admitted softly. “I’ve heard you guys talk about Heartland and what state it’s in.”

“That’s fine.” Shay said, looking over at Rin. “No one has to go, not if they think they can’t handle it. Including the newest Lancers.” Their eyes drifted over the five newcomers.

Jesse smiled at him. “Don’t worry about the three of us.” He gestured to himself, Syrus, and Chazz. “We’ve seen hell. We aren’t afraid to go back there and help whoever needs it.”

“And your leader’s fine with it?”

“What Jay doesn’t know yet won’t hurt him.” Syrus shrugged slightly. “Just don’t tell Zane the plan. Or he’ll try to stop us. He doesn’t like me being out of the same city as him, let alone the same dimension.”

Chazz scoffed. “Jaden will find out when we leave. Who knows, maybe the Slacker will come help out.” He rolled his eyes. “What exactly do you need before we can go?”

Yuya hesitated. “Well…”

* * *

Seeing an actual hospital on the island was a shock to Yuya. “Just how big is this place?” He muttered.

“Well, you know how magic is real?” Alexis asked.

“Is the island a Tardis?”

“The island is essentially as Tardis.” Alexis nodded in agreement as she led Yuya and Yuto inside. After the meeting with the others, Yuya couldn’t wait any longer. He had to see Sora. Yuto agreed quickly with him, and the two left with Alexis to find him and Akiza.

_Yuya? What’s a Tardis?_ Yuto asked.

_Never ask that around my mom. It’s from a show about a time lord. Basically it’s a police box that’s bigger on the inside. Like, spaceship big._ Yuya explained, squeezing Yuto’s hand. _Or like how Solid Vision for action duels can make a small arena look far bigger._

_Got it._ Yuto looked around the hospital warily. It was quiet inside, looking nearly deserted save for two receptionists at the front desk.

“Alexis. Are you here to see Akiza?” One asked.

“I am, she’s expecting Yuya and Yuto up there.” Alexis smiled. “Room 205, correct?”

“That’s right! Go right ahead.”

Yuya blinked in surprise as Yuto began pulling him towards the stairs. “Come on, I’m sure Sora wants to see you sooner rather than later.”

_Yuto? Slow down! What’s gotten into you?_ Yuya wanted to laugh lightly at Yuto’s actions. He seemed so different.

But he stopped as a memory flashed in his mind. Yuto in Heartland, dragging Shay through a building that was little more than rubble, coming to the only room left in nearly one piece. Lulu hiding there, a bandage stained pink wrapped around her arm. He could feel Yuto’s worry as he changed the bandaged, trying his hardest not to cry as Lulu whimpered from the pain. The worry of what if it wasn’t enough? What if he hadn’t found Shay on patrol nearby? What if Lulu had…

_Yuto, it’s okay._ Yuya soothed, squeezing his hand. _Everyone’s alright for now._

_For now._ Yuto echoed. _I’m sorry. I just-_

_I know._ Yuya smiled softly._ Sora will be alright._

He knocked on the door, opening it when Akiza answered. He was surprised to look around the room and find it more like a dorm than a hospital. Soft carpeting, a twin sized bed with blue sheets instead of the typical white of a hospital, even the walls were a soft cream color instead of white.

Sora was curled up on the bed, hugging a stuffed dragon toy tightly. He seemed much calmer, but it was clear he had been crying again.

“We had to give him a mild sedative.” Akiza explained, sitting on one of the chairs next to the bed. “This one will let him stay awake, but he’ll stay calm. It’s perfectly safe to use.”

Yuya nodded, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. “Hey Sora. I-“ Yuya looked surprised when Sora practically threw himself in his arms, clinging to Yuya and the dragon toy. His eyes widened when he realized the toy was made to look just like Odd-Eyes.

“You’re someone safe for him.” Akiza smiled softly. “I tended to cling to Yusei a lot when he first helped me, though we couldn’t always stick together due to the Dark Signers attacking.” She explained.

Yuya wrapped his arms around Sora, rocking him again. “So what’s going on, exactly?”

Akiza shook her head sadly. “We aren’t sure yet. We know Sora has some psychological damage causing these fits, but we can’t pinpoint what. He’s scheduled for a brain scan in two hours, so we can see if we can rule out anything like tumors or hemorrhages causing this.”

“Could it be post-traumatic stress?” Yuto asked.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Akiza agreed, smiling as Sora seemed to fall asleep on Yuya’s lap. “On top of him being so young… he was never able to just be a child, instead of a solider. It’s affected his mental and emotional development.”

“It’s going to take a long while to even break through the surface of what’s going on.”

Yuya hugged Sora tighter, petting his hair with soothing strokes. “Oh Sora…” He whispered. _How can I leave? Sora needs me here…_

He listened as Akiza explained what they were going to do to try and help Sora, slowly becoming aware of the smaller tracing something on his chest. It felt like…

_G… o…_

“Sora?” Yuya whispered.

_H-e-a-r-t-l-a-n-d. _Sora traced out each letter, still feigning sleep. _G-o._

“Sora… no, I-I can’t.” Yuya shook his head as Yuto asked Akiza more about what was to happen. “You need me…”

_Y-u-t-o. S-h-a-y. I-m f-i-n-e._

Yuya looked over at Yuto. He knew Sora was right, he and Yuto couldn’t be apart yet, and his counterpart was anxious to go back to Heartland, his home. Both he and Shay wanted to go back.

He had promised, more to himself than to Yuto or Shay, to look after them. Back when Yuto had been so sure that Shay was going to lose everything in the end, when Shay was reckless with his own life in the same realization that he lost everything. When Leo Akaba was spouting off about Zarc and Ray, how they would all disappear.

Yuya swore he would look after them. That promise had drove him to duel Akaba in the end. For Yuto, for Shay, for Declan, Riley, Yugo, Yuri, Zuzu, for everyone.

He could have sworn their dragons agreed with his resolve. Starving Venom had seemed much more vicious with attacking, Clear Wing had been distracted, but glared at Akaba. Dark Rebellion seemed to just attack on his own.

And Odd-Eyes. His own dragon, had stood by his side through the entire duel.

_G-o._

Yuya sighed softly. “Three days.” He murmured, kissing the top of Sora’s head. In three days, they would go.

They just had to finish their plan of escape first.

* * *

Yuya and Yuto went back to meet with the others after a few hours spent with Sora and Akiza. It was strange to Yuya, seeing how Akiza acted around Sora. She babied him.

“Your mother does the same when you’re sick, doesn’t she?” Akiza had asked. “Sora isn’t well. And as far as we can tell, he hasn’t had parents. I find that sometimes treating them as younger than they actually are at times can help. Especially in cases like Sora’s, or Leo and Luna’s.”

_It may work out better._ Yuto squeezed Yuya’s hand. _She’s the one with the child psychology degree._

_Yeah she’s also like our age._ Yuya pointed out. _And we haven’t even graduated high school yet._

_Yes we did._ Yuto looked towards the old dorm that was now their hideout. “Saving the world sorta meant, to Delcan and Kaiba, that we all got our high school diplomas after some strings were pulled. They’re from LDS, but we’re all done with school for now.”

“Well there goes my excuses of needing to study to get out of doing things.” Yuya said dryly, smiling when Yuto snorted in laughter.

“Yuya, I’ve seen all your memories. The day you actually study will be the day this island sees snow.” Yuto chuckled.

“That can be arranged.”

Yuya jumped back, yelping in surprise when Jaden appeared in front of them. The older boy laughed. “Sorry! I wondered where you two decided to sneak off to. Yugi stopped me from stealing Yuri and Yugo again, so I figured I could come and check up on you two.”

“We just went to check on Sora.” Yuto said to him.

“Ah, the kid who looks like Syrus and Chazz had a wild night that led up to an awkward nine months?” Jaden joked. “Don’t worry, Akiza can help him.”

He motioned for the two to follow him, walking past the dorm and heading to a pathway down the cliffs. “Jaden? We were gonna-“

“Plan more of your escape to Heartland?” Jaden finished Yuya’s sentence with a smirk, watching the two wince. “You really think you’re the first group to try something like this? I planned an escape to the Dark World to save Jesse, Yusei’s snuck off more times than any of us can count, even Yugi’s done his fair share of disappearing.”

Yuya was silent. Of course they wouldn’t be able to get away easily, even Jack had said as much. He and Crow couldn’t even sneak away to be with the Lancers for long without someone knowing, and Alexis always seemed to have a bodyguard too. They knew their friends best, it figured they couldn’t escape without notice.

“It can’t be helped though.” Jaden sighed, smiling softly. “Alexis told me your plan. Don’t blame her for it, though. I tend to get a little worried if she or Jesse go missing. And last time that happened… I got most of my friends killed, gave Syrus and Bastion PTSD, and caused Crowler to decide to shut down Duel Academy without Kaiba’s permission in order to do a total reform of the school board and employees.” He shrugged.

“And had my own version of Zarc happen too. Complete with a dragon bodyguard.”

Yuya stopped walking, staring at Jaden as Yuto stopped as well, looking back at him. _It’s thanks to Haou that Zarc wasn’t able to come to. The universe can’t handle having two Supreme Kings, and Haou won out. _The words echoed in his head. What Alexis had told them about the sudden outburst that fused the two universes.

_Haou and Jaden are the same person._ Yuya stood still as Jaden looked back at him. Sharp amber eyes that seemed to stare straight through him, pinning him to where he stood. Until one flashed turquoise.

Hesitantly, Yuya began walking again. He knew there had to be a reason things seemed to be going over so well, and how there seemed to be more power around. He followed Jaden down the rocky pathway to the beach, squeezing Yuto’s hand lightly.

Their newfound allies weren’t just powerful, they were _dangerous_. Yuya felt as if the darkness from Zarc was going to consume the four of them at times, even with Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri all pushing back against it during his duel with Leo.

But Jaden, _Haou_, had won against that darkness in a matter of _seconds_. Where they had fought for over an hour and had made no real progress. More than that, Alexis had said he created the Super Polymerization card, that it could work on _humans_. And on dimensions, even universes.

And then there was Yusei. Yuya hadn’t seen him often, he was typically holed up in whichever room was chosen to be their technology base. But Crow told him about the Crimson Dragon, and how Yusei had the head mark for the Signers. He could hack his way into virtually anything too. Yuya remembered hearing Jack and Crow’s complaints as Yusei adjusted the programing of their duel disks remotely.

If anyone could stop their plans at the very last minute, it would be Yusei. If he didn’t use that Crimson Dragon to stop them first. He wasn’t sure Yusei could though. Jack admitted to having a closer connection to the dragon than even Yusei did, able to use its power even before the merging.

Atem was another power altogether. Yuya looked out at the ocean. If he had to decide who was the true leader now, he would say the mysterious Pharaoh. Every major decision seemed to come from him, even within separate groups. He had seen less and less of Atem as the week went on, though the Pharaoh seemed to have an innocent curiosity focused towards them.

There were others who Yuya was beginning to feel wary of as well. Kaiba, who reminded him of Declan’s worst qualities. Zane of course, who Yuya was certain was going to end up murdering Aster, and Alexis’s brother Atticus, who he saw sometimes wearing a mask as he dueled. Akiza was no pushover either still. And the spirit he could see floating next to Jaden too. _Yubel._ Alexis said that fusing with Jaden had calmed the dark spirit, but they still held an air of danger around them.

But then, there was one more person that Yuya couldn’t figure out how to feel about.

“Good. I’m glad you found them. Yuya, Yuto.”

“Of course I did, Yugi! I told you they’d be back.” Jaden laughed, walking over to the other duelist easily, draping an arm over his shoulders.

Yuya couldn’t help the confusion he felt about the small duelist. Part of him wanted to say he was just wary because of Sora and Dennis’s betrayals. Yugi had been nothing but kind to them, helping and healing them, even with everyone being weary and tired from all the fighting.

But the King of Games was the most dangerous of them all.

“Come on.” Yugi smiled softly. “There’s someone here who wants to meet you two.”

“Us?” Yuto asked, threading his fingers together with Yuya’s.

Yugi nodded, looking at Yuya. “I promise, I can explain everything once you meet them. I can tell you don’t exactly trust me.”

“But this may change your mind, on a lot of things.”

They followed Yugi, into a cave tucked away against the cliffside. Yuya shivered, pressing close to Yuto. Jaden was behind them, typing away on his duel disk.

“This is so cool! I like these new disks way better than the old ones.” Jaden grinned. “Too bad I can’t use the excuse of leaving my phone behind anymore now.” He joked, laughing as he finished messing around, putting the disk back on his arm.

“Yugi, why don’t you have an updated disk? I’ve never seen one like your’s, even the older models…” Yuto said, looking at the pink and white duel disk the older wore.

Yugi smiled, activating his duel disk to let Yuto see it. The field layout was similar, glowing a soft red color, but Yuya could see more than just the disk lighting up. It was connected to a part on his shoulder, similar in design to the disk with the connecting cable running down his arm. There was only one thing missing.

“I don’t use a physical deck anymore.” He explained. “The cards are digital, stored inside of my duel disks, like Kaiba’s are. It’s a lot easier to handle.” He chuckled softly.

“Alright… so then, what are you taking us to-“ Yuya couldn’t finish as a red and cream colored blur barreled into him and Yuto. He looked alarmed, until a familiar trilling and cooing noise reached his ears.

He looked up, only to be greeted by Odd-Eyes grooming his hair. Yuya yelped, trying to escape from his dragon’s hold. “W-Wait, Odd-Eyes?!”

Yugi laughed. “Surprise! Have a look around.” He spread out his arms.

Candles along each wall began to light up, illuminating the massive cave he had led them to. It looked as if it were bigger than the entire island, a large pool in the center with a waterfall providing water for it and the stream that led out into the ocean.

The room felt cool, even with a giant dragon made of pure fire resting near the water, a water dragon swimming around nearby with two giant dragons. The smaller of the long dragons, decorated with gems down its body, raised its head out of the water to look at Yugi.

_Dragon queen, I see you’ve brought the hatchlings._ The voice was feminine, echoing in their heads and shocking Yuya and Yuto.

“Well, I figured Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion would like to see them.” Yugi laughed. “Sorry Rain, I know it’s been a while since I’ve been able to get down here. Jesse’s been busy too.”

_It’s been only a few weeks, Heba. Nothing to fret over._ The largest dragon raised its head out of the water, and Yuya couldn’t help but stare at the two.

They looked similar, almost as if they were twin dragons. But unlike the first, who was covered in pure white scales and feathers, the second was covered in metallic plates. And was far longer than the first. Yuya looked into the water, surprised that there seemed to be no end to this new dragon.

Odd-Eyes chirped happily, keeping a hold of Yuya as Dark Rebellion prowled over, nuzzling Yuto and purring loudly. “What is this place?” Yuto whispered, petting his dragon.

“This, is a dragon sanctuary.” Yugi smiled at the two. “An overlapping area where the Spirit Realm and our world connect. There are spots like this in every dimension, I believe. I know one is in Satellite, so Synchro should be connected. And each area, is connected to one another as well.”

_It’s about time the hatchlings found their way here. Our little Dimensions were getting impatient, even though Rebellion had just seen his child a few days ago._ The first dragon said affectionately. _My little child will have to come visit soon as well, before Osiris drags him here._

“I’ll tell Jesse.” Yugi grinned. “Yuya, Yuto, meet Rainbow Dragon, and this lovely goddess next to her sister, is Cyber Eternity Dragon.”

Odd-Eyes trilled again, and Yuya found himself leaning back against his dragon. _Goddess?_ As something moved behind them, Yuya realized what Yugi meant by that. He turned around, looking in shock at the large red dragon that had curled up behind them.

“And this, is Slifer the Sky Dragon, otherwise known as Osiris.”

Yuya and Yuto were frozen in place, unsure of what to do or say, even as Jaden laughed next to them, walking over to the god dragon as if they were old friends.

“Slifer! You missed out on all the fun!” Jaden grinned, patting the dragon’s large form. “Tell your brother if he messes with my card again, I’ll turn him into one. Since I can’t exactly send the star god to the stars…”

“Slifer is Rain’s mate. And Eternity is mated to the Crimson Dragon. The Signer dragons are her first clutch.” Yugi explained. “It’s a lot of crazy stuff that I’m sure you two don’t have time to listen to.” He smiled softly.

“But your dragons wanted to see you.” He hummed softly. “This is actually how Shinji was able to bring the children from Synchro here today, you just missed them. And… I’m sure Kite could come and see his Galaxy dragons too. There is a portal leading to XYZ around here somewhere. Ah, but I’m rambling I guess.” He said, winking at Yuya.

“Of course… A large group coming down here may look suspicious… without a proper distraction.” There was a flash of red in Yugi’s eyes, deeper than the color of Atem’s. It made Yuya shiver. That color, wasn’t human.

There was a deep growl from beyond where the fire of the candles could reach, that same red color reflecting in the darkness, illuminating a large, bulky form of another dragon. _Gandora? _

_No, that one’s bigger._ Yuto replied. _But… that feeling around it…_

Yuya stared at Yugi for a moment before looking at Yuto.

It seemed they had more allies in their fight to get to Heartland than they first thought.

* * *

“I lived in the Satellite for sixteen years. I was on my own for three before dumb and dumber remembered they got a little brother that actually exists, who was taking care of kids _on his own_, in and out of prison, contemplating a job as an escort, stealing from Security every chance I got, and then turning around and saving dumb’s ass when an Earthbound Immortal controlled by his crazy ex-boyfriend tried to smash him and his runner into the ground.”

Yuya blinked, pausing as he and Yuto walked back into the dorm. An impromptu meeting in the large dining room was what they were expecting to find.

Not Crow and Shay sitting at a table, surrounded by the others, with a bottle of what Yuya suspected was wine between the two bird duelists. Riley was sitting on Shay’s lap as Crow rocked Tanner, keeping the toddler asleep.

“I didn’t even know there was more than one kind of cheese until I was 17 and Akiza was teaching me how to cook grilled cheese. You should’ve seen Yusei’s face when we told him there was more than one kind of apple too. And not just red ones and green ones.”

Shay stared at Crow, eyes wide and left speechless for a moment. “…How are you not in therapy?” He blurted out finally.

“Do I look like I got therapy money?” Crow retorted. “Shit, the Commons are luxury apartments compared to Satellite! I can show you my place in the Satellite. But in the Commons, I still grew up with Jackass here-“

“Keep up with the nicknames and it’ll be _your_ ass that’s hurt.” Jack muttered.

“Okay Jackson, but we weren’t starting a duel gang just to try and take control of the Commons to make things better.”

“I mean we sorta did do that.” Shinji chuckled, sitting next to Crow with Frankie on his lap. “We joined the Lancers.”

Crow laughed. “Babe, the Lancers are a preschool gang compared to the Enforcers.” He said, taking another drink. “Guess which group has a murder record. You’re dating a felon.”

“A felon turned Security.” Shinji smirked. “I saw that outfit.”

“Yeah well, _this_ Security is run by Trudge and Mina. And I know you heard the _absolute hell_ Mina raised when she heard what Roget did in Synchro. She threatened to put me back on the force.”

“Wait you _killed_ someone?” Shay asked.

“What the hell did we walk in on?” Yuto whispered, dragging Yuya over to Yuri and Yugo.

Yuri sighed. “Well, it started with Crow finding wine in the kitchen here. Since some of our group is old enough to drink, and Crow can apparently hold liquor like it’s his profession- seriously that’s his fourth glass- they decided that we can all try some.” He held up his own glass.

“Why not.” Yugo snorted. “Commons, sometimes alcohol was the only drink you could get. But then Shay had some, and he can hold his liquor too.”

Yuto nodded slowly. “War, alcohol was sometimes the only safe option.”

“But he decided to start warning us about what we’re going to see in Heartland.” Yugo continued. “And Crow said ‘that’s just a normal Tuesday in the Satellite’. And Shay asked for an explanation. So now Crow’s sharing war stories of his childhood and making all of us seem like spoiled kids in comparison.”

“Because that’s totally a normal thing with us.” Yuya sighed. “Please tell me Riley hasn’t had any alcohol.”

“Hell no.” Crow answered. “No one under the age of fifteen is drinking. Kids have apple juice. And yeah we killed one guy who was trying to kidnap Jack to sell him to the fish market.”

Shay looked confused. “Why would they sell him to a fish market?”

“It’s code for a trafficking ring. That we were all too young to stop ourselves.” Jack explained. “Until Kalin, Yusei, and Crow killed a guy who was helping to run it. We made quite the name for ourselves after that. Kalin took it too far though, he murdered a security officer after I dragged Crow out of the Enforcers.”

“Hey! I left on my own. I told Kalin I wanted nothing more to do with the group. I already had one mark on me, I didn’t need a murderer mark! You left afterwards!” Crow protested.

“Yes and I left because you did. You couldn’t live on your own. You were _twelve_.”

“Yeah, and I lived with Pearson for a year before he died in that fire and left the Blackbird and his cards to me. Then I took care of his kids.”

“Jesus Christ, we’re surrounded by felons.” Lulu shook her head, walking over to Yuto and handing him a glass. “Trust me, if you’re gonna listen or join in, you need it.”

Yuto took the glass, handing it to Yuya. “I’d rather not. Some of us should stay completely sober. Especially if we’re caught.”

Yuya had a feeling getting caught wouldn’t be a problem. He noticed Shinji was without a glass, and Alexis stood over in the corner with Jesse, a glass of apple juice in her hand. They were supervised, and no one seemed to be drunk in any way.

“Guys?” He spoke up, stopping Crow’s next rant. “I… we have a way to get to Heartland. Yugi and Jaden showed me.”

That caught everyone’s attention as they looked at Yuya and Yuto. “How?” Alexis asked.

“The dragon pocket dimension below us.” Yuto replied.

Jesse groaned. “Oh no, I forgot! Oh Ma’s gonna be so mad I haven’t visited since we got back…” He shook his head with a soft smile. “The Sanctuary. It’s connected to all the dimensions, supposedly. We haven’t exactly tried to go through the portals around it.”

“I doubt we could without being stopped.” Alexis admitted. “Slifer is usually there, and he’s connected to Atem. If anyone tries to sneak out? We’ll be ratted out.”

“It’s the best chance we got though!” Yugo protested, holding up Clear Wing’s card. “Unless _someone_ wants to start sending me around dimensions again!”

Yuya shook his head. “I doubt that’ll happen, and I doubt the Pharaoh will be an issue.” He said, setting down his glass. “We ran into Jaden on our way back, and he took us to Yugi. They both know we’re leaving. So… I think it’s best we go as soon as possible.”

“Tonight then.” Shay decided. “Get together everyone who’s coming with. If someone’s on the fence about going, then they aren’t going.”

“Things were getting better for a while in Heartland, but who knows how it is now.” Yuto murmured. “If those Academy duelists kept their word to help or not. Or if they were overpowered.”

“If they were, we can stop them.” Alexis said, holding up her left arm with her duel disk.

“We’ll get everyone together then.” Yugo said. “Let’s go!”

“Go _where_, exactly?”

The voice from the doorway made them all pause, Shay and Yuto’s eyes widening with surprise. “Kite?” Shay asked, watching him walk in. “I thought you were already in Heartland. What happened?”

_This doesn’t look good._ Yuto said warily watching as Kite walked in. He hid it well, but Yuto could pick up on the pain Kite was in trying to walk normally. _We were able to get through to Kite, but he sounds upset still._

“Kite.” Lulu walked over to him, stopping when Kite glared at her. “Please Kite, Heartland is our home. We’re all alright here, we want to help back home! Where are Saya and Allen?”

“I don’t know. Because Heartland was attacked _again_.” Kite narrowed his eyes, glaring from Lulu to Alexis. “So, Fusion girl, got any explanation for that?”

_Fusion girl?_ Yuya took a step back. _But last time we saw Kite and Alexis near each other, they were working together! Because they were with my dad!_

_Something bad happened._ Yuto realized. “Wait… Kite what do you mean attacked again? That’s impossible!”

“Yes, no one’s been able to escape to other dimensions except you after all.” Yuri pointed out. “And even if the war was still going on, the Professor got what he wanted from Heartland, there was no need for any other attacks.”

“And how can we be so sure of that?” Kite growled. “After all, seems like Fusion’s outnumbering everyone again here. How can we know this isn’t just a trick? And why should I trust the Professor’s _dog_?”

“Kite _what happened_?” Yuya asked. “Come on, everyone here is on your side Kite, we were coming to Heartland to help!”

“It’s true Kite.” Dennis’s voice was hesitant as he spoke up. Yuya jumped slightly, he hadn’t seen him sitting in the corner next to Jesse. “Aster and I were the ones assigned there by the Professor, he had no other plans to invade this late into the war. And everyone new here isn’t just from the Fusion dimension.”

“Then why are the survivors in Heartland all being carded?” Kite demanded. “Why is the war still going on?!”

“What?” Shay’s eyes widened as everyone broke out into hurried whispers.

“Carded?”

“That’s impossible!”

“Are we walking into a war zone?”

“Hey! Quiet down all of you!” Crow’s voice raised above everyone’s as he stood up, keeping Tanner on his hip. “Fighting in the group won’t solve anything.” He said firmly, passing Tanner over to Shinji.

“Looks like we’re headin’ out sooner than just tonight.” He smiled slightly, patting Frankie on the head. “You Jackals stay here. Shinji? Find Yusei, tell him we’re gonna need back-up, maybe more than just this group.”

Jack smirked. “And who put you in charge?” He asked as he got up. “Well come on then! You heard him, people are being carded again. Isn’t it the Lancer’s job to make sure that stops, Yuya?”

Yuya blinked. “R-Right! Kite, we’re all coming to help.” He said, smiling slightly at him even as Kite glared back. “Look, you came back to get help, didn’t you? Let everyone here prove we’re all on the same side!”

_Brave words from someone who sounds so shaky._ Yuri sighed.

_Hey, he’s doing his best!_ Yugo jumped up to stand next to Yuya. “Yeah! If there’s anything left of the Academy in Heartland, then we just gotta beat the Academy out of ‘em!” He grinned.

Shay walked over to Kite, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re going. It’s about your brother, isn’t it? And Chris.” He murmured softly.

Yuya didn’t miss the way Kite flinched slightly. _Brother?_ He echoed. Kite had a brother? Was that why he fought so fiercely against the Academy?

_Yes, Yuya._ Yuto nodded. _Kite’s brother and who I believe was his boyfriend were both carded in front of him. It was just before Shay and I came to the Standard Dimension. We swore we would get help to get them and Lulu back. Hart is only about Riley’s age. And Kite would go through hell for him, even before the war started._

Yuya’s eyes widened. No wonder Kite had been so angry and not trusting of them. “I see… then it’s settled.” He put down the glass, adjusting his duel disk and blinking when he saw a new program on it.

_Yuya,_

_ Hey! Hope this gets to ya before you guys leave. I told Yusei to hurry up with it! Listen, getting people out of cards isn’t easy, so this program will let you transfer their souls to your duel disk instead! Once that’s done, I included a crash course in using dimensional magic to pull them back here from the duel disk because that’s a lot easier than getting someone out of a card. This program’s already in Lexi’s duel disk too, and you two can transfer it to everyone else. Yusei said Jack’ll know how to work the program._

_I also included the program to card people as well. I know you’re against it, but let’s just say I got a feeling you guys are gonna need it. Just remember, the duels are real from here on out!_

_ Jaden_

“Alright, no more standing around talking. Let’s go!” Yuya said, looking up from his duel disk. “We’ll make up a plan on the way!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, they have a way to Heartland now! And more mystery too.
> 
> Rainbow Dragon and Cyber Eternity Dragon are totally Goddesses. Slifer and the Crimson Dragon better watch out
> 
> (Also #LetYugiBeDragonQueen2020)

**Author's Note:**

> Official ship list:  
Yuya/Yuto/Yugo/Yuri (mainly Yuya/Yuto and Yugo/Yuri)  
Yuya/Yuto/Shay (along with Yuto/Shay and Yuya/Shay. mostly past-ship)  
Shay/Crow/Shinji (Crow/Shinji at first)  
Yusei/Akiza/Jack  
Atem/Yugi  
Kaiba/Joey  
Jaden/Alexis/Jesse  
Zane/Atticus  
Chazz/Syrus  
Zuzu/Lulu/Rin/Celina  
Yuri/Jaden (will happen once warning you now Jaden is like 19-ish here and Yuri is 17.)  
Yugo/Yusei (I mentioned in WTTS there was a drunken kiss)  
SLIGHT Yugo/Rin. They're more like siblings but it did happen once.  
Shay/Zane (okay hear me out, it's not a big ship thing. It's barely there. But it happens.)
> 
> And then Yuya/Yugi seems like it might happen, but it won't. Yugi is like 28 here. The DM crew is oldest.


End file.
